Celebrating cycle to work day

Thursday 1st August was bike to work day and we're proud at James Burrell to say we're part of the cycle to work scheme. A truly important scheme which not only benefits the health and wellness of our employees both physically and mentally, but also has a very positive impact on the environment.

There are so many reasons why cycling to work can benefit your day to day life, but we thought it would be best to hear it from those who are actually part of the scheme. So we caught up with a couple of people from our James Burrell team to find out just how important the cycle to work scheme is and the extremely positive impact it has had on their lives so far.

"I believe it is very beneficial to employees as I have been putting off buying a bike for a long time. The cycle to work scheme allowed me to look beyond my initial budget and find a bike that was much more comfortable for me to get back into cycling. I live around 8 miles from work so it isn’t too bad of a ride and it’s a great start to a healthier lifestyle. I try to aim for 3 days a week at least which saves fuel consumption and also beats sitting in the traffic."

"I purchased the bike in October, the timing wasn’t ideal as the weather was about to worsen and darker mornings and nights were creeping in. However, I decided to get my backside into gear from March, just as we were coming out of the winter.  I started cycling from my home in South Shields into work which is circa. 20mile round trip.

To keep me committed, I set myself a target of ‘X’ number of rides in a particular timeline to keep focus, with the ultimate intention of losing weight and bettering my physical and mental health.  

Starting off, the 10mile was extremely tough, but as each ride passed I was getting fitter and stronger finding it easier each time. Since starting cycling, I have clocked up over 2000miles, and with this has brought increased energy levels from which I’ve then used to join a Gym! This coupled with cycling has brought huge improvements to me both physically and mentally.

I’ve lost 2 stone since March and feel fantastic in life as I’ve broken out of a rut I was not content with staying in which was ultimately my goal.

I’d recommend the cycle to work scheme to anyone. Those with busy lives sometimes struggle to justify time to attend Gyms, but the cycling to work is a no brainer as you’re cycling the same time you’d commute by car so you kill two birds with one stone. I’ve actually found myself being able to be quicker on the bike than in the car some days now due to rush hour traffic aswell, so its win, win!"