On your bike for the ‘Cycle September’ in Sheffield

“Three to five miles is an easy distance to cycle, particularly if your work journey is downhill like many are in Sheffield,” says Jack Windle, of Love to Ride, “but we know that at present the vast majority of three mile trips to work in Sheffield are made in a car, and quite often a car in a traffic jam.

So this Cycle September, we say why not see if you can cycle that distance, and feel a lot better as a result?”More than 70 per cent of three-mile work trips in South Yorkshire are made in a car, and more than half of one-mile work trips.

But car trips dropped significantly during the early months of the pandemic, says Alex Howe of city centre architects BDP, which support active travel for staff with secure bike storage and shower and changing facilities, and with workplace ‘cycling champions’ to advise and encourage colleagues interested in cycling to work.

“Post the coronavirus lockdown, our mental and physical health are more important than ever and cycling can be a great way to help both of these,” she says.

“And the change is already here. More people cycling and walking into the city is one of the good things to come from the crisis. We are determined to make cycling to and from the office the ‘new normal’ and Cycle September is a great catalyst for doing so.”

Cycle September is the local Love to Ride scheme’s free annual initiative to encourage cycling to work, where participating individuals and companies can win prizes by logging their cycling miles and encouraging colleagues to try cycling.

But those returning to city workplaces are likely to find the roads congested during rush hour as people avoid public transport.

“With more people returning to work and the roads getting busier, cycling beats sitting in a traffic jam and is still the most reliable and healthiest way to commute,” says Andrew Norton from Wessex Archaeology, one of the 360 local organisations taking part in the Love to Ride programme.

“Work by Sheffield Council shows that with the arrival of e-bikes, we could see up to 30 per cent of Sheffield trips made on a bike in future, and that will mean hundreds of lives saved in Sheffield every year from the effects of air pollution, obesity, and inactivity,” says Jack.

“So everyone who signs up for Cycle September is helping to save lives and build a better city for everyone who lives here.”

The scheme is part of Sheffield Council’s CycleBoost initiatives, including loan bikes and urban cycle training.

Matthew Reynolds, council transport planning and infrastructure manager, says: “The chance of earning rewards is a fun way of getting people thinking about using a bike as a way to integrate exercise into your daily routine, so we hope the Cycle September promotion will go a long way in encouraging people to make that switch from their car to their bike.”

People taking part in Love to Ride have so far logged more than five-and-a-half million miles, and the scheme has encouraged more than a thousand new cyclists onto the roads, potentially boosting the UK economy by £10 million – studies show a non-cyclist who becomes a regular lifelong cyclist is worth at least £10,000 in NHS savings, productivity gains, and reductions in pollution and congestion, for example.

However, pro-cycling employers say proper segregated cycling infrastructure is now needed more than ever.

“The evidence shows if you build the infrastructure, the wheels will follow,” says Andrew Whiteley, of Airship.

“Provisions for bikes and washing and drying space in the workplace is relatively easy 'infrastructure' to put in place, but in the absence of top-class cycling provisions on the road, it may not be enough alone to lure those who don't cycle onto their bikes.”

“We know cycling enhances employee retention, increases productivity and improves reputation,” says Alex. “The business case is clear.”

To find out more about the South Yorkshire Love to Ride cycling scheme and to get on your bike and sign up for free, visit lovetoride.net/southyorkshire