The wind whipping through tangled hair while freewheeling down country lanes, penny sweets and a menagerie of soft toys nestled in the basket – bicycles were, for so many of us, a mainstay of childhood. Learning to ride was one of our earliest physical tests and offered a delicious first taste of freedom.
However, while bicycles are not gendered toys, girls often put the brakes on for good when they become adults – in fact, three times more men than women cycle for fun. But British Cycling – the national governing body for cycling sports in Great Britain – is redressing the balance with Breeze, an initiative that launched in 2011 to encourage more women to get back on the saddle and hit the road on two wheels.
