Cycling must be the only sport with so many enthusiasts that discovered it by accident. Even going for a jog or a kickabout requires a certain amount of planning, but hopping on a bike to pop to the shops or get to work and back can be the kind of things we don’t really think about – we just do it. And, as these testimonies from cyclists up and down the country show, a few short rides can be all it takes to unlock an obsession. From people who found their first bikes in skips or rusting in a friend’s garden to elite athletes and lifelong adherents, their stories will inspire you to get in the saddle this summer.
Lucia, 12, London
I’ve always loved cycling. It’s a really good way to travel and explore new places. You can go really long distances, and stop pretty much wherever you want, and it’s so much faster than walking. It can be tiring, of course, but getting to your destination is such a great feeling. Plus, when you go fast, it feels like you’re flying! My dad and I recently went with some friends to Brighton by bike. We went through forests and fields, met some friendly cows and horses, and ended up at the beach. It was such a fun weekend.
Adam, 38, London
I started cycling as a way of cross-training for other sports, but that was only because I found an old bike in a skip and took it down to De Ver Cycles in Norbury. It’s run by a fantastic local guy called Maurice Burton, who was actually the first black British champion in cycling and rode with people such as Patrick Sercu and Eddy Merckx. So I felt comfortable going in there as a mixed-race south-Londoner and Maurice turned my bag of old bits into something training worthy, and that, when I went off to university, meant I could easily keep up with guys on three-, four-, five-grand bikes. So there’s some mythbusting to be done with the perception that cycling has to be an expensive sport.
Harry, 41, Hull
For years, commuting to work was all the cycling I did. But, during lockdown, I started casting my net a little bit wider and getting out on the weekends. To the east of Hull, it’s pan-flat more or less all the way to the coast, but if you go west into the Yorkshire Wolds there are quite a few hills that are good for endurance riding. With the long summer nights, you can stay out in the country into the evening, and everywhere you look it’s still bathed in sunlight, while back in the city you’d be stuck in the shade. There’s just nothing better.
Alba, seven, Newcastle
At first, riding my bike was difficult and I didn’t really like it because I kept falling off. But then I saw some bigger kids doing it and thought it looked cool so I tried again, and I could do it! And then when my little sister saw me doing it she wanted to do it too. Now me and my family all ride our bikes together. Riding bikes is good for fitness and good for the planet. But be careful: I once saw teenagers riding without holding on to the handlebars and texting at the same time, and one had someone riding on their handlebars!
Nikki, 34, Frome
I only started cycling properly about three years ago. I took a two-day course into mountain biking and by the end of that I was hooked. But the rides I started going on were quite male heavy and I decided to help set up a women’s mountain biking group with my local bike shop. About 20 women turned up to the first ride we advertised, so there was definitely demand there among women who wouldn’t have gone on mixed rides. But now some of them do both; it’s helped build up their confidence. It’s incredible knowing how far you can get under your own power.
Caterina, 27, London
Where I grew up in Italy I was surrounded by cycling talk. My grandad used to watch the Giro d’Italia – an annual bicycle race – and would talk about bicycles, and his company even sponsored them. My mother always cycled, and when I was seven, my dad took me on a 70km ride into Austria. Cycling is still a big part of my life – everywhere I go, I cycle – and it makes me feel close to my family. It’s a kind of feeling of home.
Colin, 40, Rye
I started cycling to work when I lived in London – it was quicker than getting the tube – and found I really liked it. I’m part of an LGBTQ+ cycling club called Ldn Riders and through that I made friends who I’ve ridden with down here in Rye as well. I think people in marginalised communities are often drawn to social sports that offer “safety in numbers”, and cycling hasn’t always been like that. But Ldn Riders now has more than 450 members, and it’s not the only LGBTQ+ club in London, so things are changing.
#PedalWithKettle this Summer of Cycling
• Kettle Chips is the official supporter of British Cycling and will be encouraging chip lovers across the country to #PedalWithKettle on guided rides throughout summer – offering free and friendly local bike rides, led by a trained ride leader, where riders can enjoy community socialising and build their confidence in riding.
• The partnership aims to inspire Britain’s families to get outside for a Summer of Cycling and enjoy grassroots sports before putting their feet up at home and supporting Britain’s cycling professionals.
• With a focus on bringing people together through their love of sport (and of course cycling), Kettle Chips will be fuelling the adrenaline on the roadside and on screens with plenty of Kettle’s Gourmet Krunch this summer – watch out for the Kettle Chip team in and around the sporting action.
Jonathan, 79, Edinburgh
My family always cycled – my dad rode to work at the dockyard, my mother took us on the back of a bike to school, and when we went on holidays we’d all cycle together. I still ride daily into town, though my wife and I have started using electric bikes over the past few years. I’ve developed a bit of knee trouble, which means I can’t play tennis any more, and it gets difficult if I’m walking more than five miles or so. But I’m still cycling – it’s always been part of my life.
Jen, 32, Sheffield
I was a swimmer at university, but I’d always wanted to try cycling, so I bought a bike and did my first triathlon at the end of my third year. I just assumed I’d be crap – I had flat pedals and trainers, and I didn’t really know what I was doing – but I discovered I was actually quite good. I started doing more triathlons and moved up to the elite ranks in Great Britain, and then in 2018 I was chosen for the Isle of Man team for the Commonwealth Games. Cycling quickly became my favourite sport and still is. I go out nearly every day, and do about 15 hours a week, maybe more. I always say to people I have some of my best thoughts when I’m out on my bike.
Roberto, 35, London
I learned to cycle in Brazil when I was three but hadn’t ridden at all as an adult. When I moved to London, I started commuting on an old mountain bike and discovered I really liked it, so I joined Islington Cycling Club. It wasn’t too long until I was out on weekends clocking up 100km, 200km, 600km! And it was a nice way for me to discover more of the UK – up to the Peak District, down through the Fens, the landscape changes so much as you move through it; it’s quite beautiful.
Mina, seven, London
I learned how to cycle in Germany. Lots of people were cycling in Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin and I decided I wanted to cycle too. I could go quite far and fast on my small bike, but I’ve just got a new bike for my birthday and it’s still a bit heavy for me. I think more people would cycle if they could see how far and fast you can go.
Lynne, 69, Wigan
I volunteer with four other regulars, twice a week for an hour to run my local community cycle club. It’s a real mixture: some of the people who come are teenagers, but there are four clients who are between 80 and 90. One lady in her early 80s had always wanted to cycle when she was younger, but her dad wouldn’t let her – so she decided to learn and since she’s been on a cycling holiday to Amsterdam with three other ladies, and they’ve travelled to many places since. There are some really heartwarming stories.
Peter, 41, Sheffield
I hate public transport, so I started cycling as a way of avoiding that kind of anxious, tightly packed setting. And as my fitness improved and I rode more outside the city it opened up this new world of birds and other wildlife, and I just became addicted to it really. If you ride every day throughout the year you see the seasons change, the different species come and go, and get used to feeling your own place within all of this. So nature and cycling become really closely connected to the point that you can’t really think of one without the other.
Rosie, 38, Bristol
When I was about five or six, my dad came home from the skip with my first bike and after a few years of riding that, I think my parents twigged that I liked cycling and needed something better. And my relationship with cycling evolved from there. I’ve just finished a ride from Land’s End to John o’Groats with my partner, which was a big challenge, and now we’re looking at doing King Alfred’s Way. But the reason I like it is the same now as when I was a kid; you have more freedom to go a little bit farther away from home and what’s familiar.
Louise, 26, Hartlepool
My family always relied on public transport or cycling; driving was never really an option for us. Now I’m a priest, I’m always travelling around the parish visiting people, and being on the bike means it’s easy to stop and say hello – you don’t have to worry about traffic and it’s much better for the environment at the same time. It’s also good representation for the church because you’re very visible when you’re out cycling, and it shows that the priests are active in the community. I’m out practically every day.
KETTLE® Chips is supporting the Summer of Cycling, and there are hundreds of free ways to enjoy cycling this summer. From local guided rides to cheering on British medal hopefuls, there’s something for everyone, no matter your age, ability or location. Get involved at britishcycling.org.uk
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