Cycling to work for beginners

For ‘Cycle to Work Day’, Strategic Campaigns Manager Helen Thorne has shared her experience with us, along with some useful tips for getting started and reflections on her cycling journey...

On ‘Cycle to Work Day’, wherever you get your news and entertainment from will likely be telling you to cycle more. It's good for you, it's better for the environment, and it's cheaper than driving to work.

By now, we know all the reasons why we should cycle, but for many of us it's still quite daunting. As a beginner cyclist, I wanted give some Warwick-specific practical advice that helped me to get started. And, also to overshare with some personal reflections on how I’ve found cycling to work.

A quick bit of context about me. I work in Uni House, I’m in my late 30s and I live in Kenilworth near Sainsbury's. I grew up near Oxford and so I used to cycle everywhere. But when I went to university in the North-east, I ditched the bike due to the hills! After graduating, I sat myself behind a desk and never got up again, really.

So, I barely cycled from 2005 onwards and then I decided to try cycling to work in spring 2022. In hindsight, I don’t know what came over me. I think I was tired of sitting down all the time due to having to work from home more and never going outside.

I’ve tried to write some advice that would have helped me to get started – I hope it’s helpful to you today!

Practical advice

I wanted to make cycling to work a long-term habit, which meant figuring out if it was actually a viable option. For me, this meant figuring out the facilities and imagining how it would fit into my day:

1. You can probably find your nearest shower by searching ‘showers’ on the interactive campus map. The ones in University house are fine for me. They are small, but they have everything I need to look presentable on a morning (including individual showers with curtains).

2. There are lockers all around campus to use, in varying sizes. I was able to track one down for myself by talking to our office manager, who knew where to direct me. If you search for 'lockers' on the interactive map, a lot of them are displayed there, too.

3. A fun fact for you: University of Warwick has more bike racks than most other UK universities. I've always felt comfortable leaving my bike locked outside because there are plenty of bike racks, and our Community Safety Team are on campus 24/7.

4. Once you know whether it’s an option for you, do a trial run. Before you set out, do the route on Google Maps street view so you can visualise where you’re going. Give yourself loads of time, and choose a day without an early meeting. Better yet, could you do your practice run on the weekend with a cycle-savvy friend?

Personal reflections

With all the practical steps in place, I tried to get myself to a space where I actually enjoyed cycling to work. For me, this has always been about removing the mental barriers that stopped me from wanting to cycle in.

In the early days, I would beat myself up if I ‘skipped a day’ and I took it all quite seriously. Now I do my best to view cycling to work as a positive thing I try and do for myself as often as I can. I don’t cycle every day, and that’s alright.

Start wherever you’re at. Don’t compare your fitness levels with what they used to be when you cycled to school, or even before you started your sedentary office job (sigh). Show yourself some compassion, and give yourself the same encouragement you would give to a friend.

Build up your confidence - small steps build up over time. Could you start by using one of the hire bikes on campus and cycling to Pret and back? When you feel less wobbly doing that, could you borrow a bike and helmet and cycle up the road and back when it’s quiet? Build up slowly until the idea of cycling itself doesn’t feel so daunting.

Another way I built my confidence up was reminding myself about road safety rules, etiquette, and learning some (very!) basic bike maintenance. These video guides are a good place to start. The roads on campus are very nice to cycle on and there’s a low speed limit which helps with building confidence, too.

Don’t spend money on new kit when you’re starting out – with one exception. If you don’t already have one, buy a good waterproof jacket that is bright yellow or high viz. Padded gloves are a less essential bit of kit that made my journey a lot more comfortable. £10 well spent!

Personalise the benefits. The biggest benefit for me is that cycling makes me feel more connected to my community. I see the same elderly man walking along my route every Wednesday morning. There’s an insanely fit cyclist that tows her two young kids along behind her in a little carriage with a flag on it, AND she often sings to them at the same time. The HS2 security guards shout ‘morning’ at me every time I pass them, without fail. All these little things make me feel like I’m part of a community and I’ve come to miss it all when I glide past in my car.

Parting words

For me, cycling to work has had a ripple effect on my life. I am happier and more alert on cycling days, and so I do more creative work. I also feel like I’ve already achieved something with my day before 9.30am, so it’s been good for my confidence and self-esteem.

Cycling has also helped me to get fitter without buying a gym membership; I’ve dropped about five BMI points without trying very hard. This has given me the courage to join a local karate class, which is something I’ve always wanted to try, but was never brave enough due to not being very fit.

So, if you’ve been sitting on the fence about cycling in, or had never thought about it before – please work up towards giving it a go! You never know, it might work well for you, you might like it and you’ve got nothing to lose.

View Warwick’s map of cycle routes and storage.