E-bike scheme helps Luton man ‘dramatically improve his life’
A man from Luton has shared his experience after borrowing an e-bike for free from a charity.
Mark Ryan spotted Cycling UK’s stand in Luton Point and signed up for a month trialling one of the electric bikes.
The 45-year-old said: “I saw the offer for a free loan on the Cycling UK website and when I saw the team in person I decided to give it a go.
“I was in a tough point in my life and was living at a temporary hostel. I’d always liked bikes and the opportunity to try an e-cycle helped me during a personally difficult time. I was suffering badly with poor mental health which was impacting my ability to get to work.”
The Making Cycling Easier scheme has been running in Luton since May 2022 and works to make e-cycling accessible for everyone.
The charity offers free one month cycle loans, taster sessions, and advice through its hubs.
Mark’s one month loan helped him to swap daily commutes with pedal power.
He explained: “For that month, I didn’t need to wait for buses or pay taxis. I travelled to work easily and noticed a real improvement to my fitness”.
His loaned e-cycle was stolen from outside the accommodation, despite trying to keep the bike secure. The Cycling UK team helped by giving him with a replacement bike.
Mark said: “Having the e-cycle and the additional support from the Cycling UK local team helped me to dramatically improve my life at a time when I was struggling. My mental health has continued to improve, and it’s helped keep my costs with commuting to work to a minimum.”
In recent months, police in Luton have been cracking down on ‘illegal’ e-bikes and scooters.
Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at Cycling UK, cleared up some of the confusion around what is and isn’t allowed on public roads.
He said: “Many people aren’t aware of the differences between legal e-cycles and e-motorbikes. To be considered an e-bike, you need to pedal for the motor to assist, and it needs to cut out at 15.5mph. If you buy an e-bike and then modify it to go, say 30mph and then get pulled over, you won’t be charged with modifying your e-bike, you’ll be charged with riding an e-motorbike without insurance, license, etc.
“In the eyes of the law, these are e-motorbikes, and we should start calling them that. People riding motorbikes are not allowed to be in cycle lanes or sharing spaces with pedestrians.”