Cycle sessions work to improve health and climate

Bicycle maintenance is one of the themes of the Beat sessions

People in Cornwall are being encouraged to get back on their bikes for health, social and environmental reasons.

Organisers of Beat (Better Engagement in Active Travelling) sessions said their work aimed to reduce barriers that prevented people from cycling and to widen participation.

They added the success of pilot events in St Austell, including a bike maintenance day, proved the value of the sessions.

They also said cycling was "a great way of keeping fit, saving money and helping the climate".

Cycling buddies Lin Harris (left) and Barry Davies said they were fans of pedal power

A recent Beat session at Bodmin Leisure Centre featured a puncture repair workshop and the opportunity to recycle unused bicycles, as long as they were not too rusty.

Friends Barry Davies and Lin Harris met at a social cycling group hosted at the leisure centre to encourage people back into the sport.

Mr Davies said he used to carry his bicycle in the back of the cab when he was a lorry driver and go for a ride in between deliveries.

The recent diagnosis of a heart condition has rekindled his interest in cycling.

He said: "I'm trying to do two things at the same time: lose my weight and get fit again, and keep my heart working as it should be, rather than having an operation and being cut up - I'd rather be getting fit."

Ms Harris added: "It's like being free from problems, it just helps so much, takes your mind off things.

"You're just taking it all in, what you see going along, it's just a lovely feeling."

Emma Roberts, from the Cornwall Bicycle Project, said there were "so many reasons why cycling is so important"

GLL community sport manager Karen Edmond said: "Cycling is a great way of keeping fit, saving money and helping the climate.

"Our aim is to raise awareness of how much fun cycling can be and why it’s a wonderful and healthy way of experiencing our beautiful county."

Emma Roberts, from the Cornwall Bicycle Project, is a passionate advocate for cycling.

She said: "Health, physical and mental wellbeing, social inclusion, enjoying the countryside, active travel, leaving your car at home, climate change - there are so many reasons why cycling is so important."

The sessions are funded through Active Travel England and Cornwall Council.

The project is being delivered by GLL in partnership with the Cornwall Bicycle Project, Cornwall Life Recycle and the council's Active Travel Social Prescribing Team.