FREE one-to-one adult cycling training is being offered across the Keighley district as part of a region-wide initiative to get more people using bikes to travel to work or college.

Socially-distant sessions are being staged from people’s own front doors, for anyone living and working in West Yorkshire.

The scheme is being delivered as part of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s CityConnect programme, designed to enable more people to travel by bike and on foot, in partnership with local authorities.

Training sessions cover a wide range of skills, from journey planning to cycling in traffic – including how to safely tackle busy junctions and roundabouts.

Each session is led by a qualified cycling instructor and follows a route chosen by the participant.

Councillor Kim Groves, chairman of the combined authority’s transport committee, said: “Two-thirds of journeys in our region cover less than five miles, which takes about 30 minutes by bike.

“To date, more than 1,860 people have benefitted from our free adult cycle training scheme – with nearly 60 per cent of attendees cycling more often as a result.

“The one-to-one sessions are aimed at giving people the skills and confidence to travel by bike regularly to a destination, such as a workplace.

“Enabling increasing numbers of us to travel by bike and on foot is more important than ever – not only as we look to address the health, transport and economic challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic, but also in helping us achieve our aim of becoming a net zero carbon economy by 2038.”

The training sessions are available to anyone aged 16 or over.

Participants must have access to a roadworthy bike and be confident cycling on traffic-free routes and, ideally, quiet residential streets.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the combined authority is working with councils to implement a package of emergency measures – including trial cycling and walking infrastructure – to help people move around the region safely.

Schemes include both short and longer-term proposals, which are being submitted to the Government in a bid to access £12.5 million funding for West Yorkshire through the Emergency Active Travel Fund.

Also, an online map has been created for the public to highlight areas where improvements are needed to help more people travel by bike or on foot.

For further information about the adult cycling training and to book a session, visit cyclecityconnect.co.uk/get-cycling/cyle-training.