A Nottingham not-for-profit group ran a free pop-up bike repair workshop to help more women get into cycling.
Women in Tandem (WiT) setup their mobile toolkit outside the new central library on Carrington Street on Monday (April 29) between 12:30pm and 4pm.
WiT staff Steph and Lily host the regular Dr Bike sessions aiming to upskill women to repair their own bikes.
Lily – who co-founded WiT – said: “We realised that there’s a huge gender imbalance within the cycling industry.
“We wanted to readjust that and create more opportunities to help women overcome the barriers that they face in cycling.
“Having the time, money and childcare can be barriers for women to be able to focus on riding a bike.”
Anyone can bring their bikes to the city centre sessions to get free repairs.
Lily says they have helped a diverse range of cyclists including mums with children, students who are new to Nottingham and commuters using their bikes to get to work.
Their bike maintenance workshops also take place to help women to be able to carry out basic repairs independently.
Lily added: “I think a big thing is being able to fix your own bike because it helps you ride further.
“A lot of people don’t want to ride too far because they aren’t going to be able to get picked up if they get a flat tire so knowing that they’ve done the workshop with us and they’ve got spaces to practice, that’s why I think bike maintenance is a big thing.”
Women-only group rides are held regularly to help build confidence in cycling for all abilities.
Lily said: “Community for us is everything – our group is about creating spaces for people to get involved and meet other people and develop lots of skills.
“It goes well beyond bikes.”
Women in Tandem is currently recruiting for new staff to take over the group and more information about these roles can be found on their website.
