“I’ve been a cyclist all of my life but I learned a lot in the Pedal Ready session about how to ride in traffic in the city. Doing the cycling skills session has made me recognise the risks I was taking by getting things like my positioning on the road wrong. It will definitely make my cycling safer.

“As a car driver you’re not able to drive on the roads without training, but training for cyclists hasn’t always been available. I’d say to people thinking about cycling to work, school or university that it’s worth learning about cycling skills, and not assuming you know how to negotiate urban traffic. With a basic level of training and better road awareness and understanding there’s really nothing to worry about.”

Pedal Ready’s sessions are available free to everyone in Sheffield, and offer help and advice to cyclists at every level from complete beginners to regular commuters.

Paul Blomfield is among over 100 MPs of all parties calling for a government action plan on increasing cycling, and says that road skills training should be a part of any measures to increase the levels of cycling in the UK.

* The free Pedal Ready sessions can be booked at:

www.pedalready.co.uk or  0114 2412775

Note: Sheffield Council funds road skills training for adult cyclists thanks to government Local Sustainable Transport Fund grants, and will launch the new ‘Sheffield CycleBoost’ scheme this spring, which includes free advice and skills sessions from Pedal Ready, maintenance training and Dr Bike services from Heeley-based Recycle Bikes, and cycle loan schemes for companies and community groups in north and central Sheffield. Professional cycling skills sessions make you three times less likely to have an injury while cycling, according to government research.