ATU Sligo Healthy Campus has teamed up with a local Sligo company, Comotion, to give 15 staff members a free bike to cycle on for three weeks in May.
A proviso for each person taking a bike is they take part in the national cycle into summer challenge – Cycle into Summer 2022. Along with more experienced cyclists on campus, they will embark on a three-week Team-based cycle challenge, where every journey on their bikes counts for points for their team.
Yvonne Roache, Health and Wellbeing Officer at ATU Sligo, said:
“This is the first of our ATU Sligo Healthy Campus initiatives that looks at promoting cycling among our campus population. We hope to encourage more campus users to cycle to work, especially those who live close by”.
She added that she was surprised that so many people applied for the free bikes, given many applicants had not cycled for years and some were nervous about cycling on open roads. She hopes the initiative will help these staff overcome some of these barriers, and by the end, they will know if they like cycling, and it will help their decision to buy a bike.
Sinead Kelly, Deputy Librarian at ATU Sligo, was one of the staff members who applied for a bike.
“28 years since I was on a bike and the first wobbles this week brought back childhood memories of learning to cycle at my granny’s! Great opportunity to give it a go without committing to purchase.”
As part of National Bike week on Wednesday, 18th, there will be a representative from Garry’s Cycles on the Sligo campus at lunchtime with a selection of bikes to try.
As a continued commitment to promoting cycling among the campus community, ATU Sligo hopes to participate in a six-month trial, “Shared Electric Bike Scheme”, which is being rolled out by Sligo County Council during the summer.
*For more information, please contact Yvonne Roache at healthycampus@nullitsligo.ie.