You don’t have to be a ‘cyclist’ to ride a bike. Here’s how to start again

As fuel prices climb and oil supply shocks multiply, you might be thinking – perhaps for the first time in years – about dusting off the bike and riding again. Perhaps you’re kicking yourself you haven’t done it already.

But getting back on a bike rarely comes from a single moment of willpower. It usually emerges from small changes that rebuild capacity over time: a serviced bike, calmer traffic, having permission to ride slowly, riding an e-bike, or cycling part-way.

Mass cycling did not return to cities by accident. In the Netherlands, the dominance of everyday cycling emerged after a deliberate break with car-centred transport following the 1973 oil crisis. Public protest over road deaths and energy dependence also contributed.

Cycling became viable again not because people were persuaded to try harder, but because car use was actively constrained and alternatives were made easier.

If we want people to return to bikes in car-centric societies, the question is not why they stopped cycling – but what would make cycling possible again.

It’s not just about motivation

People often assume the hardest part of cycling again is motivation.

But bikes tend to stop being ridden long before people decide to stop cycling. Something small went wrong and was never fixed. The bike ends up in the garage with flat tyres, tucked behind boxes, or hanging unused.

When that happens, cycling doesn’t feel like a choice any more. It feels unavailable.

In our research with people who had stopped riding in Sydney, cycling faded when everyday arrangements no longer worked: storage was awkward, routes became stressful, or minor mechanical issues accumulated.

People are more likely to cycle when the bike is stored near the front door and ready to use.

Cycling depends on a combination of bodies, bikes, routes, time and confidence. When any one of these falls out of sync, your capacity to cycle drains away.

Abandon ideas about ‘proper’ cyclists

One of the strongest barriers we encountered was the sense of not fitting the image of a “proper” cyclist.

In Australia, that image is still closely tied to being male, wearing a lot of Lycra, owning an expensive bike and costly cycling gear and riding really fast.

Women, older riders and those returning to cycling after a long break often experience that culture as quietly excluding.

In reality, cycling does not require a lot of specialist gear for most everyday trips.

In places where cycling functions as everyday transport – such as large parts of Europe and Asia – people ride in work clothes, at relaxed speeds, on practical bikes.

Similarly, e-bikes enable a range of differently abled bodies to cycle (suggesting we should rethink some of the ways e-bikes have been recently demonised).

Letting go of narrow definitions of who cycling is for can reopen the possibility of riding at all.

Cycling routes might have improved

Our research into the significant increase in cycling during the COVID pandemic found the lockdowns offered a rare natural experiment.

Many Australians returned to cycling after years away because traffic temporarily disappeared.

With fewer cars on the road, cycling felt calmer and less demanding, and confidence grew quickly. A significant investment was made in cycling infrastructure across Australian cities (although this investment is still minuscule compared with car infrastructure spending).

So if you’re reluctant to cycle again because you’re afraid of being hit by a car, it’s worth checking if cycling routes have improved since last you rode.

Start by using a digital map to search for cycling routes separate from vehicle traffic.

Get your bike serviced

A serviced bike changes everything.

A lot of the anxiety stopping people from riding can be greatly reduced by simply having gears that work, brakes that respond and tyres that hold air.

Our research found these small material fixes can make a big difference to getting people back on the bike.

There are myriad explainer and DIY videos on YouTube covering maintenance basics if getting the bike professionally serviced is out of your budget.

You can also try to find a local community bike kitchen or council‑supported course. Some councils also run programs where experienced riders can show you good cycling routes through your suburb or city.

These make maintenance affordable but also reconnect people with cycling as something ordinary and shared, rather than technical or elite.

You don’t have to ride the whole way

Another quiet enabler is allowing cycling to be partial and occasional. Some begin by riding to a train station or local cafe rather than committing to an entire commute.

In our interviews, people stayed on the bike longest when they allowed themselves to mix modes of transport, adjust routes and change plans without feeling they had “failed” at cycling.

Treating cycling as one option among several, rather than an all‑or‑nothing identity, makes it easier to start.

Make cycling ordinary again

The Dutch experience after the oil crisis shows society-wide shifts follow when everyday conditions change, not when individuals are told to try harder.

As the world once again confronts energy uncertainty, the lesson is timely.

The challenge for cities is not to convince people that cycling is good. It is to make cycling ordinary enough that people can return to it without having to become a “cyclist” first.