Cycling in Tower Hamlets

Cycling is an efficient, cheap, healthy, non-polluting mode of transport. Tower Hamlets Council wishes to encourage cycling to help improve mobility, reduce traffic congestion, and improve health in the borough.

Free adult cycle training and cycle buddying scheme

Anyone who works, studies or lives in Tower Hamlets can take advantage of the new and improved free adult cycle training scheme.

The new scheme offers one on one sessions with a qualified cycle instructor rather than in a group. Whether a total beginner or a more competent cyclists you are now guaranteed more time with the instructor and a better chance of improving your cycling skills.

The scheme has been altered so that sessions are available at a time and day of the week that suits you (within normal Monday - Saturday working hours). For those who would prefer a female cycling instructor this can be arranged upon request.

Cycle training sessions last for one hour and for most beginners will be based in the safety of Victoria Park where our training provider, Bikeworks, is located. For more experienced cyclists training sessions can be arranged to start from a different location within Tower Hamlets that suits your requirements.

We are now also able to offer cycle buddying training once you are at a competent level to cycle on the road. This scheme pays for a professional instructor to ‘buddy’ you on a useful journey (e.g. home to work), helping you to understand and cycle the safest and most convenient route. Each participant is entitled to one such hourly session.

For further information on these schemes visit Bikeworks or to book a cycle training/cycle buddying session email cycletraining@bikeworks.org.uk or call them on 020 8980 7998.

If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact Sam Margolis, Tower Hamlets Council Travel Awareness Officer, on 020 7364 6707 or sam.margolis@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Remember, if you work, live or study in Tower Hamlets the cycle training programme and cycle buddying training is free for you to use!

Cycle routes

Our own consultation with residents has told us that 15 per cent of non-cyclists in Tower Hamlets would start cycling if there were more safe cycle lanes available.

The council is committed to new cycle routes being introduced wherever possible, in accordance with London wide initiatives. This work is taking place in partnership with adjoining boroughs and the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority.

We have made the safety and convenience of cyclists a priority in the design and implementation of all new traffic management measures and new developments.

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Cycle map

Use this link to access a cycle map (PDF, 1Mb) of the borough.

(You need a plug-in called Adobe Acrobat to view the map - download Adobe Acrobat free of charge.)

Cycling and walking newsletters

Find out more about the latest cycling and walking schemes in Tower Hamlets:

Community led cycling projects

As part of the Healthy Borough programme Tower Hamlets Council and NHS Tower Hamlets are funding a number of 'Community Led' cycling projects in the Borough, encouraging more people to cycle more often in our local communities. The details of these projects are shown below:

1. Cycle FIT - The Jagonari Centre

The Jagonari Centre operates a cycling initiative for mainly Muslim women of Bangladeshi background. The project provides regular cycling sessions for women for whom access is only possible because of the female-only environment and supports them until they have increased confidence to cycle publicly. Monthly group rides are also available, coupled with healthy picnics that are home-made by learners and competitively judged for taste and health by a panel of professionals and lay people. For more details contact The Jagonari Centre on 020 7375 0520 or visit them at 183-185 Whitechapel Road, E1 1DW.

2. Cycle 4 Health - The Tower Hamlets Cycling Club

This project promotes cycling for health through free, weekly cycling sessions. Bikes are available for use during the sessions which incorporate:

cycling skills
basic maintenance
healthy eating advice

Advice is also given on purchasing bikes cheaply through local recycling schemes. The project brings together families for rides in parks, along canal towpaths and local cycle-ways, enabling riders to explore the wealth of leisure cycling routes available locally. Participants gain skills and confidence to make cycling a regular part of their exercise, making active travel an established part of their health routine. For more details contact Janice Djelloul at Janice.djelloul@yahoo.co.uk

3. Family Bike Club - Bikeworks

Bikeworks is establishing a family cycling club within the borough by recruiting an ethnically diverse group of families and utilising existing relationships with schools in the borough to do this. The club enables families to engage in a range of cycling activities, giving participants the chance to:

Learn key skills, including road safety and assertive cycling
Participate in weekly family group cycle rides around Tower Hamlets which provide the opportunity for exercise for all the family

There is also the opportunity to socialise with other families in the local community. For further details visit www.bikeworks.org.uk or email info@bikeworks.org.uk or call 020 8980 7998.