FREE cycle training for adults is being offered all over Oxford this month.

If you’ve been looking at that forlorn bike in the corner of your shed and are thinking it’s about time you got on your bike again, but feel you need to brush up on your skills, then this training is for you.

Details of the courses are on the Cyclox website cyclox.org.

Cycle training – offered for free or not – is at the top of any cycle campaigner’s wish-list. You can install all the cycling infrastructure you like, but you won’t fill the cycle paths if people can’t cycle properly or are scared to try. The best way to spend money on cycling is to get cyclists and would-be cyclists trained with the skills they’ll need to deal with any situation on the road.

The Government devised ‘Bikeability’, a new national standard for cycle training, a few years ago. I was pleased to see the city and county councils join forces to offer these Bikeability Levels 1 and 2 courses as training is the key to getting more folk onto their bikes.

Bikeability equips riders to cope – and be comfortable – with any situation they’re likely to find on the modern road network. From maintaining a safe position on the road, to signalling and looking properly, the course is brilliant for anyone wanting to brush up skills – or even ride for the first time since childhood.

Most cycling infrastructure – cycle lanes and off-road paths – makes cycling palatable for novices and less-confident riders. Good infrastructure can make life much more pleasant for experienced cyclists as well, but an experienced cyclist doesn’t really need all that much, they can cope fine in a safe on-road environment which Oxford mainly already has.

Staying on the theme of getting out and enjoying cycling, British Cycling’s Breeze programme aims to help thousands of women feel confident and comfortable about going on a bike ride.

There are going to be lots of fun, social bike rides for women in Oxford (and nationwide). No Lycra required, the rides go at a speed that suits everyone and often start or finish at a cafe so everyone can have a drink and a chat. Contact Vicki Galvin, GO Active Coordinator on 01865 252720 or vgalvin@oxford.gov.uk for details.

Promoting cycling means more cyclists, which leads to reduced congestion, improved air quality and a healthier population. In an age when the Government is considering paying obese people to lose weight, you can see why they want to stop us getting obese in the first place.

It can be no coincidence that Nice (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence – which approves the NHS’ drugs) recommended five years ago that pedestrians and cyclists be given priority in planning and building towns and cities.

The Nice recommendations included restricting motor access, the reallocation of road space, road-user charging and the creation of comprehensive walking and cycling networks.

They believed this would help prevent and manage over 20 conditions including coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity and mental health problems. So there you have it: cycling keeps you sane as well as fit.