Active Medway Cycling Group

The Active Medway Cycling Groups programme is hoping to encourage adults to get more confident on their bikes with free, guided cycling sessions. The groups take place across Medway at various times and are suitable for all abilities.

NHS Medway's Public Health Team has been working in partnership with British Cycling to train volunteer ride leaders, who will lead the groups. The main target audience is people who own a bike, but are not confident to venture out onto the roads on their own. The aim of the programme is to build people’s confidence in a supportive group environment, helping people to overcome fears about road safety and build beginner cyclists fitness levels.

The groups will start with low traffic, relatively flat and slow paced routes, progressing onto busier roads, longer in duration and faster paced rides. The trained ride leaders will be working in pairs with the front ride leader setting a suitable pace for the group, and the second ride leader only going at the speed of the slowest cyclists.

Scott Elliott from the Physical Activity team said “Lots of people have a bike in their garage, but are not confident enough to get it out and use it. The biggest fears are around road safety, so we use routes that are low traffic and the Ride Leaders can give you lots of tips of how to stay safe on the road. It is also safer cycling in a group, and you get to meet like minded people on the rides too, so is a fun way of getting some exercise”.

To find out more details, or to book onto an Active Medway Cycling Group, please phone or email the Physical Activity team,