The Gosney family from Exeter participated in a local Sustrans TravelSmart project and soon discovered that using their bikes for more of their routine journeys was easy and enjoyable, and brought considerable health benefits.
A few years ago Suzanne Gosney was given some poor advice from a bike shop and ended up buying a bike that was too large for her. This resulted in a loss of confidence and she ended up leaving her bike redundant in the shed.
When Suzanne heard about TravelSmart she decided to take up the team's offer of a home advice session with their cycling advisor.
The family received a home visit from TravelSmart’s Toni Vernelli, who was able to offer Suzanne practical tips on choosing the right kind of bike and encouragement to get cycling again. After her visit, the Gosneys started to use their bikes for leisure rides at the weekends, and regular weekday journeys.
Suzanne’s husband, Richard, was spurred on by the visit to use the car less, and now travels to his evening classes by bike: “It was just really good timing. We’d been going on leisure rides as a family but Sustrans brought all the other travel possibilities to the forefront of my mind. If this hadn’t happened I don’t think I would be going to my evening computer course by bike. It just makes you think there’s an alternative. I cycle into town because it only takes me about five minutes more on the bike than by car and it’s a lot more enjoyable than sitting in traffic.”
Richard has also noticed a significant improvement in his health: “I suffer from asthma and when I took part in sports – and even when I started out cycling – I found there was too much strain on my lungs, but the weight’s come off as I’ve done more cycling and breathing has become very easy. It’s been great! It’s like being a kid again, going back to when you were young and could zoom up and down on your bike, never getting out of breath.”
Now the whole Gosney family is cycling more often. Along with Richard’s trips to evening classes, Suzanne’s renewed confidence has meant that she is determined to give commuting to work a go, and son Dan is currently taking a Bikeability Stage Two course that will give him the road skills to cycle himself to secondary school.
Result: A visit from a Sustrans TravelSmart advisor helped the Gosney family discover how easy it is to switch to healthier, sustainable ways of getting around, when and where it suits them best.
The Gosney family from Exeter participated in a local Sustrans TravelSmart project and soon discovered that using their bikes for more of their routine journeys was easy and enjoyable, and brought considerable health benefits.A few years ago Suzanne Gosney was given some poor advice from a bike shop and ended up buying a bike that was too large for her. This resulted in a loss of confidence and she ended up leaving her bike redundant in the shed.When Suzanne heard about TravelSmart she decided to take up the team's offer of a home advice session with their cycling advisor.The family received a home visit from TravelSmart’s Toni Vernelli, who was able to offer Suzanne practical tips on choosing the right kind of bike and encouragement to get cycling again. After her visit, the Gosneys started to use their bikes for leisure rides at the weekends, and regular weekday journeys.Suzanne’s husband, Richard, was spurred on by the visit to use the car less, and now travels to his evening classes by bike: “It was just really good timing. We’d been going on leisure rides as a family but Sustrans brought all the other travel possibilities to the forefront of my mind. If this hadn’t happened I don’t think I would be going to my evening computer course by bike. It just makes you think there’s an alternative. I cycle into town because it only takes me about five minutes more on the bike than by car and it’s a lot more enjoyable than sitting in traffic.”Richard has also noticed a significant improvement in his health: “I suffer from asthma and when I took part in sports – and even when I started out cycling – I found there was too much strain on my lungs, but the weight’s come off as I’ve done more cycling and breathing has become very easy. It’s been great! It’s like being a kid again, going back to when you were young and could zoom up and down on your bike, never getting out of breath.”Now the whole Gosney family is cycling more often. Along with Richard’s trips to evening classes, Suzanne’s renewed confidence has meant that she is determined to give commuting to work a go, and son Dan is currently taking a Bikeability Stage Two course that will give him the road skills to cycle himself to secondary school.Result: A visit from a Sustrans TravelSmart advisor helped the Gosney family discover how easy it is to switch to healthier, sustainable ways of getting around, when and where it suits them best.