Academy
Any cycle, any rider. We can get you riding and achieving your goals.
One of the biggest reasons we hear for people not wanting to take up cycling is their lack of confidence on the road, fear that they can’t cycle very far, or worry about riding with others. That’s why we came up with our Academy program.
Whether you’re looking to take up cycling as a sport, ride to work, swap out some car journeys for a more environmental form of travel or all the above, we can help you do it.
Academy takes place over the course of 4 consecutive Sundays and encourages would-be cyclists to take part in a confidence building programme - to experience the thrills of riding in a group and enhance road safety awareness, culminating in the ability to confidently ride 30 miles/ 50km and more.
You don’t need the latest Tour de France tech to do it either. We regularly have students do our course on mountain bikes, road bike or commuter bikes. Some of which have been gathering dust for years, maybe even decades!
Academy is the perfect introduction to the World of Cycling, and a great way to meet like-minded people who feel they need a little help to ‘get up to speed’. Over the course of the program you will learn about cadence, communication, positioning, best practice for group riding, how to approach climbs, how to accelerate your speed and much more.
We run Academy every Spring, helping riders get ready for the warming riding, cycling to work, school or the shops, and even preparing for events like London to Brighton or local and national sportives
Here's what some of our Academy graduates had to say about her experience of the programme:
“As a ‘rusty rider’ and mother of two young children, I have a lot of responsibility in my life, so the risk element of cycling was a real concern. The Academy programme has given me the confidence to ride both on my own and also now in a group - which has proved to be a really great new social activity. I would encourage anyone who is considering riding to join a club, learn the skills and before you know it you will be covering miles!”
“Thank you for all your time and advice over the last 4 weeks. Something I was quite nervous about turned out to be one of the most enjoyable activities I’ve done in a long time. I feel far more confident as a cyclist now and you have opened my eyes to the thrills of riding in a group.”
Sign up in just 3 easy steps!
- Step 1: Read about Academy on this page. As you're here that's step one already done!
- Step 2: Register a free account for a guest pass (your first three rides for free).
- Step 3: Pay the £5 deposit to secure your space.
- Step 4: Join the Academy event on our Events page to attending the first ride. That's it, you're in!
Make sure you bike is cycle worthy before you come along. You can visit our approved cycle mechanic Steeple Cycles Servicing and Repairs. They've offered to check over all Academy attendees cycles for free - if you need some new parts you'll have to pay for those, but prices are very competitive.
Please also see the list of items you will need to ride with us below. Remember, you can bring any bike, as long as it is suitable of completing 50kms. So that's urban bikes, mountain bikes, e-bikes (there are so many types!), folding bikes, recumbents, tricycles, front loaders, rear loaders, road bikes, and gravel bikes. We probably wouldn't recommend a BMX or Penny Farthing (it's actually called a high wheel bicycle with a nickname of The Boneshaker, for good reason!).
What you need to ride with us:
