Cycling in Peterborough helps you, your pocket and the planet

Peterborough’s On Ya Bike project is powering through autumn and into winter, as it aims to get people to ditch the car and embrace two wheels instead.

On Ya Bike, funded by LNER’s Customer and Community Investment Fund, is all about encouraging more cycling in and around Peterborough – whether that’s on your daily commute to work or college, out to meet friends or simply as a way to explore the great outdoors.

For the planet

We all need to do our bit, and tiny changes add up to big differences. Research shows that even a one day a week cycle cuts down on our own carbon footprint. Swap one car trip a day to a bike ride, and every one of us will reduce our carbon footprint by about 0.5 tonnes over a year!

You will also be helping ease congestion in Cambridgeshire, making it a more enjoyable place to live and work.

For your pocket

Running a car costs an eye-watering amount of money. With fuel prices peaking at over £2 a litre part way through 2022, coupled with insurance, road tax, maintenance and, of course, the initial outlay, car ownership doesn’t come cheap.

Swap to a bike, and the savings are instant – there are no fuel or parking costs at all, and buying brand new can cost as little as a few months at the gym. Better still, buy second hand or use a bike-borrowing scheme like Voi and make it even better value than ever, leaving money in your pocket for the fun stuff, or to help with big ticket savings, like for a new home.

For your health

Getting on your bike isn’t just good for you now, but it’s investing in your future health too. Research shows cycling can help protect you from serious diseases such as stroke, heart attack, some cancers, depression, diabetes, obesity and arthritis.

Cycling also releases those ‘feel good’ endorphins to help relax the mind and improve your mood – especially important if you have been stuck at work all day. By swapping your daily commute – or escaping your WFH space if you are working at home – you get to enjoy nature, see others and get the ‘exercise high’ from a low impact, low cost sport.

But what about the weather?

There’s no doubt it’s going to get darker, windier, and wetter over the coming weeks, but a helmet, decent set of waterproofs, and some bright lights on you and your bike and you are good to go! It might be difficult at first, but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives, and on a crisp, bright autumn day it’s pure joy.

“On Ya Bike hopes to support residents with making more sustainable travel choices, whilst getting them out and appreciating their local green spaces,” says Stuart Dawks, Interim CEO at PECT.

“Cycling has a fantastic impact on our health and wellbeing, plus having a positive impact on the environment – making Peterborough a cleaner, healthier place to live”.

Ready, get set, explore

There’s so much to see and do by bike in and around Peterborough. How about a trip around the old Roman fortress, Bluebell Wood, or Roman Point at Ferry Meadows? Combine art and architecture at Longthorpe Tower, or head out to Castor and the Milton Ferry Bridge. Why not cross the River Nene at the Shanks Millennium Bridge or take a literary turn at John Clare Cottage. You can even get ‘On Ya Bike’ and visit the ruins of a medieval manor house and grotto at Holywell Ponds or go back in time to the Bronze Age at Flag Fen.

There’s a whole world to explore, and as the region is largely flat fenland, even novice cyclists will find themselves happily eating up the miles on the road to health and happiness.

Ready to be inspired? Visit www.pect.org.uk/projects/on-ya-bike to find out more.