Cycling Ireland has secured financial backing from the Government for its community bike rides programme this year, which was previously sponsored by Axa Insurance.
The community bike rides programme was launched in 2019 and now has 5,000 members across Ireland. It involves cyclists meeting in their communities to go for group rides. The rides are led by 120 'ride leaders' in 29 counties. Cycling Ireland said a further 100 candidates were currently committed to completing the ride leader training.
The cyclists, under the guidance of a ride leader, take on "social leisure rides", 11,500 of which were completed last year with over 36,000 rides now completed since the scheme's inception almost four years ago. The community bike rides are open to adults of all ages.
The programme will be sponsored this year by the Department of Transport and is now part of the department's ‘Active Travel’ policy - a range of programmes aimed at promoting the use of non-motorised modes of transport.
Advertisement
Related News
Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD (Greens), said he was delighted his department was now supporting the community bike rides this year.
"It is important to encourage active travel modes such as cycling across as wide a demographic as possible, and community bike rides allows people of all ages and abilities to get involved and gain confidence as cyclists, building skills that can form part of their day to day life," he said.
"Encouraging modal shift away from cars and towards active travel is a key governmental priority and initiatives such as community bike rides form a key component in achieving this goal."
Scott Graham, Cycling Ireland's interim operations manager, said community bike rides provided "free social leisure rides for people of all ages and abilities" across the country. He described the rides as a "fantastic gateway for people who want to start or return to cycling".
Community bike rides officer, Jason Goodison, said the Department's support for the scheme would only "work to strengthen the alignment between Cycling Ireland and Department of Transport strategies regarding commuting, the use of greenways and more".
