Ilkeston Cycle for Health (In Partnership with Erewash Borough Council)

The rides start at 6:45 pm every Monday from Straw's Bridge in Ilkeston. They are free to join, supported by Erewash Borough Council & led by trained volunteers. All you need to do is bring your bike, dress for cycling and have a bottle of water handy if you want one.

We have three levels of ride, Newbies, Regulars and Experienced. If possible, please let us know which group you'd like to join.

Our Newbies group is the perfect introductory ride to restore confidence in cycling. The route is 6 miles long and fairly flat. There is plenty of time to complete the 6 miles, so this is going to feel like a very gentle bike ride. We hope that people will be able to move to the Regulars group after having a few rides with the Newbies.

The Regulars group ride a circa 10 mile route. We try to vary where we go each week. You don’t need to be able to breeze along on a bike for mile after mile or climb any hill in your path. The sort of person we want to encourage to join our the Regulars are those who want to start and build on their cycling fitness. Regulars is a nice supportive group of people. Everyone has been a Newbie at some stage, so they understand what it's like to be starting out with your cycling.

Once your fitness improves, we have our Experienced group for you to progress onto. You can even start on one of these rides if you already have a reasonable level of cycling fitness. The Experienced group will cover around 15 miles and you will be free to ride with as much effort as you like. All we ask is that you stop occasionally to re-group. It can be as challenging as you want to make it!

All of the rides last for about 90 minutes & they mainly stick to cycle paths and bridleways, so there are very few roads and little traffic to negotiate. The pace of the ride is carefully controlled in order to make sure that no one struggles to keep up and that we can all keep together as a group.

We know that taking the first step and trying something like this can be a bit daunting, so the focus is on encouragement and not leaving people to struggle. The only surprise will be how quickly your cycling ability improves!

Our rides usually take place around Shipley Park, the Erewash Valley, Strelley and Cossall, so are traffic free.

If we do venture onto roads to link trails, it is usually for a short distance on very quiet roads.

We always have a mid point refreshments break.

Please bring a drink and clothing appropriate for the weather forecast.

We never leave anyone behind

We vary the route each week and most of the rides are 100% off road on tarmac or hard stone trails.

Occasionally very short stretches of quiet roads linking trails.

We usually stop mid-ride for refreshments and a chat.

A serviceable bike (hybrid, gravel or MTB), helmet, suitable clothing and a spare inner tube for their bike. Don't worry if you don't have an inner tube for your first ride, we can advise you what to buy.

We especially welcome newbies!