People in Southport are being urged to learn to love their bikes again

People in Southport are being urged to learn to love their bikes again

People living in Southport are being urged to fall back in love with their bikes as part of a national drive by the cycling charity, Cycling UK.

The organisation has pledged to get at least 25,000 people back cycling and riding regularly by the end of the summer as part of its Big Bike Revival project.

Autism Initiatives is lending a hand by putting on events in their great café Mecycle in Ainsdale on May 19 to May 26 and June 16 to June 23, providing bike check-ups, maintenance workshops, learn to ride sessions and led rides.

The aim is to encourage the 42 per cent of the population who own a bike but never use it to rediscover the joy of cycling.

James Scott, Cycling UK’s Director of Development said: “We’ve found that people sometimes just need that extra helping hand to build cycling into their lives and that’s where we’re here to help.

“Often people tell us they don’t use their bikes because they either lack the confidence or skills, or their bike needs a bit of tender loving care.

“Our events in Mecycle aim to tackle those barriers and encourage everyone to join and learn again to enjoy the ride.”

Last year, Big Bike Revival events around the country reached more than 64,000 people, fixed around 1,600 bikes and helped around 18,500 take up cycling as a regularly activity.

This year, the project is aiming to reach more people and restore more bikes.

Vicky Jones, from the Mecycle, said: “We’re delighted to be involved with the Big Bike Revival, so if you have an unloved bike sitting gathering dust in your shed or garage, bring it to us and we’ll help you get back up and running.”

“We’ll also be running training sessions so you can learn to ride safely, and passing on tips to keep your bike running smoothly.”

Cycling is not only fun, but has proven and profound health, social and environmental benefits. But currently only 17 per cent of people in Britain cycle at least once a week, despite 25 million people owning a bike.

You can find out more about Big Bike events at MeCycle on Facebook by following @mecycle

The Big Bike Revival runs from 4^th May until 28^th July. You can find full details on the websitewww.cyclinguk.org/bigbikerevival