Our Team – 2

I’ve been at Bikeworks from conception, when my other half put together the original business plan titled Olympic Bikes, we’ll be 15 years of age this year, 2021.

Everything! I lead the team, come up with new ideas, nurture relationships and build networks, all to provide people and communities with access to the opportunity of using the bicycle for social and environmental good.

Incredibly it’s not changed since it was originally created 150 years ago. Through my own life I have discovered so many ways to use the bicycle to help people and generate income, it’s such a simple cost effective mode of transport. Amateur cycling was when I started to develop a cycling passion, I was 13 and doing time trials. I moved into mountain biking, and started working in a bike shop at 15 and stayed attached to the cycling sector ever since. Aside from the practical everyday use cycling gives you, it can also push your mental and physical limitations. A great example of this is the Paris-Brest-Paris, the oldest cycling event in the world, its 1200 KM. You try to complete it against a non-stop countdown of 90 hours. It’s amazing what you can endure and the limits you overcome when you have. I’ve completed two, and am looking to do my third when it’s held again in 2023.

Nearly two years, I’ve been in the cycle training sector for nearly 20 years and was involved in the development of Bikeability, the government cycle training programme, on-cycle HGV driver training and the Ride Side-by-Side, promoting cycling as a travel solution for everyone.

I support the development of innovative ways of using the bicycle for both environmental mode shift to sustainable travel focused on people who are traditionally perceived as less likely, or unable to cycle and social impact, sourcing opportunities to promote inclusive cycling and active travel.

I prefer the word cycle instead of bicycle, as it expands people’s thinking outside of a two-wheel experience. I believe that through the power of cycles, another, better world is possible.

Meena is our finance manager and an ACCA qualified accountant. She manages the finance function at Bikeworks from payroll to payments. Meena also undertakes financial modelling to produce forecasting data to enable the organisation to plan ahead, supporting the budget holders to fulfill their responsibilities.

Since May 2020.

A bit like Jim: (nearly) everything! The purpose of my role is to ensure everything works as well and as smoothly as possible, mainly by making sure all processes and procedures are in place, and that communication between everyone at Bikeworks is smooth. In a nutshell I manage the operational sides of things and have an overview of everything that goes on at Bikeworks. I focus on cycle training, cycle deliveries, mobile mechanics, maintenance courses, payroll, invoicing, reporting and HR. I give a hand wherever I’m needed and I’m always here to find solutions to problems. What I love about my role is that I work with everyone in the team.

So many reasons! Cycling is so important for cities as it improves inhabitants’ mental and physical health. It’s also amazingly empowering for women, young people and people with disabilities. It’s an altruistic activity that doesn’t pollute, nor takes space. Cycling connects people and improves our living surroundings. It also helps us reclaims cities and the urban space, making them more pleasant and safer to walk around. I dream of seeing London turn into a new Amsterdam!

So many reasons! Cycling is so important for cities as it improves inhabitants’ mental and physical health. It’s also amazingly empowering for women, young people and people with disabilities. It’s an altruistic activity that doesn’t pollute, nor takes space. Cycling connects people and improves our living surroundings. It also helps us reclaims cities and the urban space, making them more pleasant and safer to walk around. I dream of seeing London turn into a new Amsterdam!

Over 2 years.

I coordinate our inclusive cycling All Ability Clubs, making sure these run smoothly. This includes welcoming new members and responding to specific enquiries, for example the adjustments we can make using our exciting fleet of specialist bicycles, including hand-cycles and four-wheelers.

Cycling should be seen as inclusive, everyone can do it and should be able to access it. There is a great range of adapted cycles for people of all ages, abilities and experience, riding a bicycle provides so many health benefits.

Since March 2021.

I manage and coordinate the RSBS programme, including being a cycle pilot. RSBS is an alternative free cycle journey service for older people, people who have mobility or visual impairements; or those facing social isolation. We use electric assist side-by-side cycles to help people go shopping, visit friends, benefiting both their physical and mental health.

I honestly think cycles are the best invention for so many reasons: practical, mental health, physical health and pure joy. A bike can transport you to the shops and carry your shopping home for you, it can take you to work, to your friend’s house, round the park, down canal paths or country lanes, over mountains or even across a continent. It brings me so much joy to see the happy expressions of people riding around London and particularly of those that have just learned how to ride. To quote a lady I taught many years ago who got on a bike after 30 years: ”I feel like I’m flying!”. Cycling is for everyone and everyone must be given the opportunity to experience the joy. There are definitely no age or mobility barriers as the RSBS programme has shown us. Ask Irene, aged 92, she said: ”I enjoyed it, my little feet were going like pistons!”

Over a year.

I look after our two Training Centres in East and West London. Here we run everything from one-day maintenance courses up to our more advanced ten-day City and Guilds Level 2 qualifications, as well as a variety of other projects. I also coordinate Dr Bike sessions across London and beyond, and support the Comms and Marketing of Bikeworks.

Going for a bicycle ride is guaranteed to put me in a good mood. It’s great for mental and physical health, the local and wider environment, and it’s cheaper than taking any other form of transport. The bicycle can solve so many problems.

Since December 2020.

My role is to lead on our newly designed Cycle into Work programme, which offers accredited and non-accredited skills for employment, inclusive cycle instructor and cycle mechanics training for people who are unemployed, including people who experience barriers to getting work. It’s exciting because Bikeworks is using its networks and years of experience to create new employment pathways into the cycling sector. Including cycle delivery and cargo cycle delivery roles, I work with the team to develop partnerships, while outreaching and engaging people onto the programme to progress into work, volunteering or more training.

Bicycles are pure magic, providing access to a range of opportunities, it’s a tool for self determination across experiences and abilities, and is a carbon neutral way to travel.

Since November 2020.

I lead on the delivery of the Cycling for Wellbeing programme, a new focused activity for Bikeworks, designed in response to the pandemic. The programme addresses the negative impact of COVID-19 by reaching out to and connecting people who are experiencing health inequalities with our 5 Ways to Wellbeing resources using the bicycle to encourage physical activity, mental wellbeing, while of course having fun. I’m responsible for telling different people about our offer, including GP’s, social prescriber’s, housing associations, and occupational therapist’s.

The feeling of freedom is what makes the bicycle my number one choice for both everyday transport and leisure. I can ride alone or with friends and we can go wherever we like, when we want. I enjoy mountain-biking in the forest at the weekend and when I go abroad I find that by bicycle is a great way to get to know a city much more quickly than by foot. I also feel safer on a bicycle than any other mode of transport.

I’ve been at Bikeworks from the start of 2021.

I work alongside Lucy to deliver & improve the Cycling For Wellbeing Programme. I am one of the main contacts for participants in the courses and I am in charge of keeping participants motivated and engaged while increasing their confidence and skills through the empowerment of cycling and mindfulness.

Cycling for me is a way to express myself, to live in the moment, to appreciate the power of movement and to become the best that I can be in many aspects! It has helped me find my passion for coaching and inspiring others.

We work with an amazing team of freelancers who deliver our work all across London.