Cycling offers many personal and practical benefits.

It's good for your health

You may be interested to know that:

• The National Forum For Coronary Heart Disease found that regular cyclists enjoy a level of fitness equal to that of someone ten years younger.
• According to a British Medical Association report, cycling will improve your fitness, help you maintain a healthy weight, lower your risk of a heart attack and help to reduce stress.
• A British Heart Foundation study concluded that cycling at least 20 miles per week reduced the risk of heart disease to less than half that for non-cyclists who take no other exercise.

As well as improving your health and wellbeing, cycling can be lots of fun, not to mention a cheaper, quicker and less stressful way of getting from A to B.

It's low on cost

Bicycles require no Vehicle Excise Duty, no MOT, no compulsory insurance, no breakdown recovery services and, above all, no fuel! A good bicycle, if well maintained, will last for years. All you'll need to pay for is annual servicing.

It's great for the environment

Cycling is an environmentally friendly form of transport because it reduces pollution and congestion.

For example, did you know that the average drive to school and back releases more than 800g of CO2 into the air? That’s enough to inflate over 60 balloons. Encouraging more people to cycle to work, school or for leisure instead of taking the car is key to improving local air quality and tackling congestion.

Confident, safe cycling not only comes through experience but from good basic training. We offer personalised one-to-one Cycle training sessions suitable for all ages and abilities, whether you are a complete novice or just need a refresher or advanced skills session.

Top tips for safe cycling:

• Cycle at a steady pace, about one metre away from the kerb so that you can anticipate and respond to road situations easily. Riding too close to the kerb or parked cars puts you at more risk and encourages drivers to squeeze by.
• Make eye contact with other road users at junctions and crossings: make sure that they've seen you.
• Be predictable and confident on the road so that all road users are aware of you.
• Be visible: wear bright, light coloured clothes and always use good lights and reflective gear at night.
• Be heard: use your bell to let other road users and pedestrians know that you're approaching.
• Never cycle on pavements or through red lights: it's against the law and gives cyclists a bad name.
• Consider wearing a helmet.

Respecting other road users

• Be aware of pedestrians and motorists around you at all times, particularly in busy city centre areas, where a variety of road users come into contact with one another.
• Always be aware of pedestrians, particularly on shared cycle/pedestrian paths, and give them time to move out of the way.
• Don’t forget that older people, young children and disabled people may not see or hear you as you approach them on your bike.
• The Highway Code is essential reading for all road users. It explains the laws that cyclists must obey for everyone’s safety, and offers further useful advice.

Lighting up

• Riding without lights, or without adequate lights, in dark conditions puts you and other road users at risk, as well as being against the law. Check out the weather details of sunrise and sunset times so that you know when to use your lights.

Be safe around HGVs

• Be safe around HGVs and buses: stay back behind longer vehicles when they are turning left, or move ahead in front of them, never alongside.

Central Bedfordshire has secured a grant from central government to cover the costs of providing Bikeability Training to every pupil by the time they complete Year 6. This training is arranged by schools, ideally during the school day, and is highly recommended for all pupils. Please contact your son or daughter's school for more information.

Bikeability training is also highly recommended for adults and can be arranged by booking directly with an accredited instructor. A list of providers is available to view on the Bikeability web site.

Under the Government's Cycle to Work scheme, employers can offer staff tax-free bikes at a cost that is often 40-50% less than the purchase price when going direct to a bike shop. Central Bedfordshire Council operates the scheme and encourages all employers in Bedfordshire to do likewise.

Information about some cycle clubs can be found by using the links below:
   
British Cycling UK
Forty Plus Cycling Club
Icknield Road Club
iCycle

Central Bedfordshire Council has produced a series of Travel Choices maps to help you plan your journey whatever mode you choose.

The maps have been produced as part of Central Bedfordshireís travel choices programme which aims to reduce traffic congestion and car-dependency by providing information to enable people to walk, cycle and use public transport more often.

For cyclists the maps are designed to help both those with experience and those without. They contain a range of useful information including promoted routes, on and off-road sections, local places of interest and the location of cycle parking.

For bus users the maps show routes, service numbers and operators.

Ampthill And Flitwick

Arlesey And Stotfold

Biggleswade

Dunstable

Leighton Buzzard

Sandy

The Luton & Dunstable Cycling Forum represents local cyclists. It meets on a monthly basis, either for a formal meeting with council representatives or socially. It also runs a popular free led ride programme.

For further details, contact Robin Cowan, Chair (luton.dunstable.cycleforum@gmail.com).

See also their Facebook page.