'Getting people to cycle is a tough nut to crack'

In a shop unit in Keighley's Airedale Centre, hundreds of bicycles stand ready to be fixed up and loaned out.

A mum-of-two visits to learn how to repair the punctured tyre on her daughter's pink bike and take the stabilisers off as she prepares to fly solo.

Next to her a man in his 50s is learning how to fix a bike he has not ridden in decades.

Not only does Bradford-based charity Capital of Cycling teach people how to fix their bikes for free, it runs an e-bike library and adult cycle lessons.

David Robison, one of the directors, says the project helps people build confidence and improve health inequalities.

"It's a tough nut to crack though trying to get people to change travel behaviours, but this kind of scheme can show some success in doing that," he says.

The charity will use a £100,000 grant from Active Travel England to expand its e-cycling hub and practical toolkit beyond its current bases in Keighley and Shipley.

The grant is part of a £1m Innovation Fund launched in October last year by the Department for Transport to develop new ideas or expand successful initiatives.

Capital of Cycling has 40 e-bikes, which can be rented for free, with the idea that the rider builds confidence before going out on their own.

Alongside the rental scheme, it runs training sessions to teach people how to fix their bikes - many of which are hosted by volunteers.

"They basically fix up the broken bikes that we get donated, and then they can be sold on very cheaply or given away to community projects," says Robison.

"Our emphasis is on cascading learning so that rather than just coming and fixing people's bikes or just doing flash-in-a-pan events, the idea is to share skills and help each other so there's a mutual aid kind of ethos."

The charity also runs cycling lessons for adults. According to a 2023 Sport England survey, less than 7% of people in Bradford cycle once a week compared to the national average of 10%.

"There's an appetite out there and I think people want to teach their kids to cycle," says Robison.

Najmin Begum has brought in her six-year-old daughter's bike. The front tyre has a puncture but she has struggled to find it.

The scheme allows her to learn how to fix the problem herself, so that if it happens in future, her daughter will be back in the saddle in no time.

"A family member told me about it and then I went onto Google and I made an appointment. It's nice. I didn't know that we had something like this in Keighley," she says.

Both her girls like cycling, and while she knows how to, she does not own a bike of her own.

"I try to take them out a couple of times a week," she says.

"They absolutely love it. Both of them. So I've got a three-year-old and a six-year-old, and my three-year-old, she's on a training bike, you know, the ones without the pedals. My six-year-old, she's ready to get the stabilisers off now as well."

Simon Oldfield has been fixing bikes for 30 years and previously worked as a technician for Ellis Briggs in Shipley.

Today he is taking a look at a child's purple bike with ribbons on the handlebars.

"I'm giving it a service, ready to go out," he says.

"What happens if we get bicycles donated, we make sure everything's safe - brakes are working, gears are working, and the tyres are pumped up and safe to ride."

Oldfield is currently unemployed and says the scheme allows him to add more experience to his CV and give something back.

"I'm a keen bicycle rider so I know my bicycles," he says.

"I thought, rather than being out of work doing nothing, I'll put a bit back into it and hopefully try and boost cycling back in a different way, giving it new ideas.

"I thought this is a good place to start, seeing as I'm out of work, do a bit of volunteering, get it onto my CV."

Robison says the volunteer scheme gives people something to do during the day - which is better for their mental health than sitting at home.

"And you're giving something back to the community by repairing these things, recycling things, and then somebody goes off happy with the bike at the end of the day."

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