Hucknall: Local cycling organisation leading the way on promoting women's involvement in the industry

A cycling organisation that operates across Nottingham, including in Hucknall and Bulwell, is leading the way for women looking to get into riding and maintaining bicycles.

Women in Tandem was founded by Lily Beaven in May 2020, with Steph Selby, Charlotte Hartwell and Aman Lidder joining the team thereafter.

The community organisation is dedicated to encouraging women into taking up cycling and building up confidence not only in riding their bikes but also in repairing and maintaining them effectively. It also aims to challenge a male-dominated dominated industry, working to understand and break down the barriers that women face to cycling.

Women in Tandem runs regular group bike rides, bike mechanic workshops, free 'Dr Bike' sessions and offers an affordable mobile repair service.

The Dr Bike sessions pop up around the city, allowing people to bring their bikes to a pre-arranged location with an appointment where trained mechanic Steph will deal with minor repairs and fixes such as issues with brakes, gears and tyres. This year Cycling UK have funded the majority of sessions through their Big Bike Revival Project.

The bike maintenance workshops aim to make cycling more accessible to women by up-skilling and building confidence and independence in both riding and bike mechanics. This means that they can save money by not having to rely on bike shops.

For more advanced repairs, Women in Tandem operate a paid service out of their home-based workshop in Wollaton where bikes can be dropped off for a few hours to be repaired, serviced or refurbished by the team. Additionally, they offer a mobile repair service for Nottingham City postcodes where they will repair your bike from your home.

One of the organisations' most popular endeavours is the women-only group rides, usually led by Lily, that riders return to again and again, enjoying the comfortable, relaxed atmosphere and beautiful, well-thought-out routes.

Saturday's ride (13 November) saw the group starting outside the library on Vernon Road in Basford, and meandering through Hucknall to Newstead Abbey for a short break, then back. This was the biggest women-only ride so far with nearly 20 participants, and more are taking place all across the city.

Women in Tandem work in conjunction with various groups and collectives around the region and the country such as Equavelo, Steezy Collective, Northern Roll and New Forest Off-Road Club, to name a few.

If you are interested in getting involved with Women in Tandem's group rides, their bike maintenance workshops or Dr Bikes, follow them on Facebook or Instagram.