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NHS staff provided with free bike loan via Gocycle and Fully Charged
Gocycle is making 20 bikes available and retailer Fully Charged hopes other manufacturers will jump on board
By Michelle Arthurs-Brennan
Folding e-bike specialist Gocycle has partnered with electric bike shop Fully Charged to provide high end machines for NHS staff as they lead the fight against coronavirus.
Bermondsey Street (London) e-bike retailer Fully Charged will distribute the NHS GS Gocycles, and the store is looking for more partners to join its project to support the NHS.
Gocycle is making 20 models of its 'GS' folding bike (£1,999 RRP) available for NHS staff to loan, free of charge, for three months.
The bikes will come kitted out with commuting essentials - such as lights, mudguards and a lock.
Director of Operations at Fully Charged, Dan Parsons said: "Gocycle are our first partner in this project, but we look to increase the offering with more support from suppliers in due course as the cycle industry comes together to show our support for the NHS."
NHS staff who would like to have a Gocycle folding e-bike for three months to help ease their commute and save them from using public transport can register an interest here (opens in new tab).
Parsons added: "With bicycle stores excluded from the government's list of mandatory closers amid the COVID-19 crisis, we see this as recognition of the importance of cycling to the nation – a viable alternative to using public transport and for its hugely positive effects on health and well-being, especially during exercise whilst isolated."
Commenting on the initiative, Gocycle Founder and Designer Richard Thorpe said: "We've all seen the images of packed tubes in the capital in the last few days. With far less traffic above ground, and the reduced number of trains being made available, e-bikes are probably the best solution for essential NHS workers to move around the city. The last thing frontline staff need after a long day saving lives is being confined within a crowded train carriage or bus or to be stuck standing in a long queue.
"Bicycles are part of the solution, but tired legs will appreciate the benefits of an electric motor to assist them home with less effort."
He added: "It's clear that cycling and electric bikes are more important than ever in keeping the nation moving. We urge other bicycle manufacturers and bike shops come together as an industry to help mobilise even more vital NHS staff."
Michelle Arthurs-Brennan
Michelle Arthurs-Brennan is a traditional journalist by trade, having begun her career working for a local newspaper, where highlights included interviewing a very irate Freddie Star (and an even more irate theatre owner), as well as 'the one about the stolen chickens'.
Previous to joining the Cycling Weekly team, Michelle was Editor at Total Women's Cycling. She joined CW as an 'SEO Analyst', but couldn't keep her nose out of journalism and in the spreadsheets, eventually taking on the role of Tech Editor before her latest appointment as Digital Editor.
Michelle is a road racer who also enjoys track riding and the occasional time trial, though dabbles in off-road riding too (either on a mountain bike, or a 'gravel bike'). She is passionate about supporting grassroots women's racing and founded the women's road race team 1904rt.
Michelle is on maternity leave from July 8 2022, until April 2023.
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