confidently cruise the streets with your buddy
We know riding on the road can sometimes feel a bit scary, especially if you’re new or returning to cycling.
During the COVID lockdowns we wanted to empower and support more women and non-binary people to cycle to work, the shops, the park, or school.
This is where Cycle Buddies helped. We matched those new or returning to cycling with more confident riders to build up knowledge and experience of riding on the roads in Derby, whilst hopefully making a new friend on the way too.
Due to a lack of funding and capacity, sadly we’re no longer able to run Cycle Buddies but if you are part of an organisation who would like to sponsor or partner with us for the scheme then get in touch.
Thank you to all our buddies who cycled together!
We would like to thank our lovely friends at London Cycling Campaign for kindly sharing the information and resources from their successful buddy scheme.
become a cycle buddy
1
sign up
Our simple online form only takes a couple of minutes to complete and helps us to find out where you are based and if you are a new/returning rider or a more confident rider.
If you have any questions before you fill in the form, make sure to scroll down to check out our handy FAQ section.
2
meet your buddy
We try to match up buddy pairs as soon as we can. We will introduce you via e-mail and provide you with each other’s phone numbers, as well as some next steps.
We’d recommend having a chat to get to know each other a bit and deciding when and where your first ride will but we suggest not revealing your home or work address.
3
go for a ride
You should always arrange to meet your buddy in a well lit, public place during the day time, for example a park or outside a cafe, in accordance with the Coronavirus guidelines.
It is up to you to establish how often you would like to meet and for how long. It could be every few days for half an hour, every week for an hour or every month!
frequently asked questions
As this is new to the city, we have put together some helpful information so you know more about the scheme. If you have any other questions that are not answered below then get in touch.
1
how much experience do I need to be a Cycle Buddy?
For new riders, if you have not ridden a bike at all before or are very uncertain about riding on roads, then we recommend you seek training before you start – Cycle Derby run free 1-1 adult cycle training.
After you have completed training, you can sign up to Cycle Buddies to get more experience on the road.
For experienced riders, we don’t expect you to have completed training, but we do expect you to feel confident cycling on the road.
2
will Cycle Buddies teach me how to ride a bike?
Cycle Buddies is not a training scheme. Our experienced riders can help you with route planning, give you time to practice together so that you feel more confident and may be able to offer personal advice on questions you have.
If you are completely new to cycling, we recommend that you seek training.
You can book free adult 1-1 training via the Cycle Derby website.
3
who can become a buddy?
During the pilot phase of the project, all our Cycle Buddies will have to be aged over 18 for safeguarding reasons.
The scheme is initially also only open to those who identify as women and non-binary people who feel comfortable in spaces that centre the experiences of women. This is to create a safe and accessible scheme.
We will be reviewing this in due course and may welcome male allies at a later stage.
4
what if I do not own/have access to a bicycle?
We understand that one of the biggest barriers to cycling is not being able to access a suitable bicycle.
We’d love to be able to provide one for you (we have plans!) but for the time being, if you are a jobseeker or keyworker you can access a reconditioned bike via the Sustrans Access scheme.
Get in touch with them to find out more.
5
what happens if I haven’t been matched with a buddy yet or I don’t like my buddy?
If you haven’t heard from us it may be that there is nobody looking for a buddy in your area at the moment. It may also be that we have more experienced buddies than we do new/returning riders and vice versa.
Do feel free to get in touch and we can provide an update.
If for whatever reason you and your buddy do not get along, just let us know and we can try to help or match you with someone else.
6
what happens if there is a problem e.g we have an accident while riding etc?
As we ask for both riders to have some level of cycling experience, we hope there won’t be any accidents but we understand there is still a risk. As a very small organisation, unfortunately we cannot take responsibility or provide insurance so we ask that you please follow the usual steps you would take to deal with any injuries or damage, reporting anything serious to the emergency services, and inform us of any major incidents.
If you have any other issues, get in touch and we’ll try to help as best as we can.