AN INITIATIVE to get more women cycling in Basingstoke and Deane is to launch later this month – and organisers are hoping it will kick start a health revolution in the borough Breeze Basingstoke, which will offer free, fun and flexible bike rides to community groups, will begin on March 22 with the aim of promoting fitness and safety on two wheels.

It is being lead by Ruth Crawford, an avid cyclist who has become a British Cycling-qualified ride leader. She is now able to show a wide range of groups how they can make cycling part of their daily routine.

The 36-year-old said: “According to Sport England, there are 2,900 women in Basingstoke who want to get on a bike but can’t due to the usual barriers of work, kids and any number of other things. What I want to show is how these barriers can be broken down.”

An official launch will be held at Hatch Warren Community Centre, where Ruth will take the first group of mums on a bike ride. She said her routes will take in play parks, shops and pubs to show how easy it is to make cycling part of a daily routine.

“It is about not focusing on the barriers and thinking that it is in fact very easy to get around on a bike,” she continued. “Through education and awareness, this could be the start of thousands more cyclists on the roads, which can only be a good thing.”

Ruth said she has already had interest from other groups including the Basingstoke and District Over-55s Forum. She has also received a £500 grant from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and won the backing of Basing Cycles, in Winchester Street, one of the town’s top bike shops.

Councillor Martin Biermann, chairman of the Basingstoke Bicycle Users Group, said he is “emphatically” in support of the scheme.

He said: “Since I am surrounded by female cyclists, in my wife and two daughters, I was not aware that there was such a deficit of female cyclists. I would emphatically support anything that gets more people out on their bikes.”

It is hoped that more women will become qualified ride leaders – spreading the initiative to a wider variety of groups.

For more information, contact breezebasingstoke @2siplus.com.