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This report presents the findings of the Bicester Bike Users' Group (BBUG) annual survey conducted in April 2025. The survey collected responses from 73 participants from Bicester and surrounding villages, providing insights into cycling habits, barriers, motivations, and awareness of BBUG initiatives. The results are intended to inform BBUG's activities and focus areas for the coming year.

Did you know that Birmingham International Airport is only around an hour away by train? Not only that but modern and quick security screening means that you might not need to arrive quite as early as the major London airports.

In the Spring of 2021 BicesterBUG demonstrating the problems that barriers on cycle paths create for people trying to cycle in Bicester. That was followed up by a crowd sourced to photograph and map all the barriers in the town, which BicesterBUG wrapped up into a report and passed onto Oxfordshire County Council. Add to that the council’s own from 2022 which states on page 17…

The first Friday of the month is traditionally the BBUG social. Normally we meet up in the evening and have a drink at a pub within Bicester, but this month we tried something a bit different, which linked with our ongoing project to link up Bicester town with the neighbouring villages via safe, off-road, cycling routes.

If you missed the 2024 BBC prom that featured a bicycle wheel (see ) there's still time to listen again on BBC Radio 3 (). Or why not do what our Secretary Paul recently did, and take your own bicycle to the Royal Albert Hall to see a prom?

BBUG started delivering books for Coles on 12th June 2020, the Covid summer, as a way of helping a local business to compete with the big national companies whose model of internet shopping without the need to venture out into the dangerous world seemed so attractive. By delivering for free we could minimise the cost to Coles and their customers and at the same time demonstrate what a good tool the bike is for many day to day journeys.

If you go down the Launton Road today, you're sure of a big surprise.

The London Road level crossing in Bicester is on its way to be closed most of the time when the next phase of East West Rail (EWR) from Bicester to Bletchley and beyond becomes active.  The company responsible for the development of the line therefore wants to find alternatives to the level crossing.  So far EWR have considered a number of options, only one of which focuses on pedestrians, cyclists, mobility scooters and all the other plethora of non motorised traffic that crosses the railway at present. The sole option proposed for pedestrians and cyclists is a footbridge like that next to Garth Park (pictured below)

What is the local plan and why is it important? Short answer, very! The local plan lay out the principles of what development can take place in Cherwell, what standards it should be built to and where can be developed. This is key for cycling since the location and nature of transport connectivity will shape whether cycling is prioritised or not. Link to the review form is below

This September, Bicester BUG took part in Oxfordshire’s Celebration of Cycling along with other cycling organisations in the county. If you came along to any of our events, we hope you enjoyed them as much as we did.

As a kid I used to bike everywhere. To see my friends, to go to school, to the basketball court on the other side of Oxford, and anywhere else I needed or wanted to be.

I've loved cycling ever since I can remember. Over the years, the reasons I cycle have changed; sometimes commuting, at other times adrenaline seeking, and lately it's been a lot less long distance in Lycra and more getting to as many places as possible powered by pedals. I recently made a pledge to cycle (or walk) all sub-5 mile journeys, including in my job as a community physiotherapist.

My wife's work moved us to Bicester from Sheffield in October 2019. This was quite an uprooting after 30 years in one place, but it seemed sensible to make the most of this change and find out what opportunities presented themselves in a new and unexplored (at least for us) land, flat, conservative and "southern" according to rumour.

Planes, trains and automobiles were my thing as a child, an obsession that shaped my life all the way through to choosing to study Mechanical engineering and work in aerospace. Being mobile was a passion of mine from getting my driving license and my first car (an old Mini) through numerous other cars and onto a motorbike. It was not until I moved to the Netherlands for work over 10 years ago that I had my first car free lifestyle experience since passing my test. All life was possible on two wheels in the small town of Deventer (similar size to Bicester) and I quickly grew to love the fresh air active travel lifestyle, and not having an expensive car to run. I still had a motorbike and loved my first tour around Europe on two motorised wheels, little did I know then that the Dutch biking lifestyle and those tours would shape the next 10 years of my life.

In my last blog, I started to tell my cycling story and how my bike became a primary way to access everywhere as well as giving me fun and an opportunity to exercise more. You might remember I mentioned that I was not cycling on the road in the beginning as I don’t feel safe as a beginner. Guess when, I had the courage to ride on the road first: during first lockdown, around March last year. Because roads were quite empty in Bicester and that was the moment, I built up my confidence. Slowly, I learnt how to indicate or what to do in certain circumstances. As I don’t drive, it was a new world for me. That is the time I started to enjoy cycling. I have to say drivers are kinder and more understanding when they feel you are not confident cycling. During this unprecedented time, so many people have learned different things, discovered new skills and hobbies. Cycling on the road was one of the many skills I improved during lockdown. 

Paul is a barrister who previously worked in the Netherlands for the International Criminal Court and the UN War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. While living in The Hague, he developed a liking for how pleasant and fun it was to be able to get from A to B quickly and safely on a bicycle. As a founder member of Bicester Bike Users' Group, he is now developing a knowledge of law and planning policy regarding cycling infrastructure, highways, disability discrimination, and personal injury. He would like to see the facilities in Bicester develop so that it is safe for cyclists and pedestrians of all ages and needs to get around safely and conveniently.

Small and independent shops in Bicester have not had it easy in recent years, the number of empty sites along Sheep Street and elsewhere in town is testament to our changing buying habits. Big out of town sites, like Tesco, and the near unstoppable growth of internet shopping has seen us turn our backs on local retailers in favour of supposedly cheaper and more convenient alternatives. This was a trend long before 2020, but the pandemic has, to a certain extent, accelerated the growth of online shopping and the number of delivery vans whizzing around our streets. But it need not be this way and and it need not be the final nail in the coffin of the high street.

£20 was all he wanted for it, there must be a catch but I was looking for a utilitarian bike to use about town and this fitted the bill. Having skimmed through Facebook Marketplace, this bike looked like the right combination of functional form, rust free(ish) and working(ish). Allegedly a BSA bike from the head badge and chain ring (which was the icing on the cake) but probably an amalgam of a number of bikes over the years, nonetheless this rather mangy old bike had potential and I was prepare to part with a whole £20 to test my theory. So back in the days before lockdown I arranged to pick up the bike while on another trip to that area and brought it back home to survey the damage. Luckily, everything was serviceable and the bike was rideable, a bargain of a mode of transport already but it did need some TLC, and when Lockdown hit in March 2020 I made this my mini restoration project.

Bicester's town centre is struggling, plain for all to see from the number of empty shops lining Sheep Street. Only recently Marks and Spencer's abandoned their spot in the centre for a shiny new address at the new Bicester Retail Park leaving behind another empty property. Free and plentiful car parking is often touted as a major reason for the attraction of these out of town retail parks, cheaper rents for retailers and 'convenience' for customers. However there is growing evidence from around the UK and abroad that this model of car centric retail is not only bad for town centres, but also for towns as a whole and are certainly not something the high streets should look to emulate.

The author of a comment on social media suggested that should any 'keen cyclists' be living in Bicester then they should check out BicesterBUG. Although I welcome any positive support, the idea that BicesterBUG is primarily for existing cyclists, let alone keen ones, jarred with our goal of getting more people cycling in Bicester. In fact, I could go as far to say that Bicester Bike User's Group is incorrectly named. To achieve the multitude of co-benefits that result from increase bike use in Bicester we cannot and should not limit ourselves to serving the existing 'keen cyclists'. Reduction of air pollution, noise pollution, traffic, regeneration of the town centre and improved health of residents can only happen if more people take to their bikes for journeys and that means those who currently don't cycle, at all.

I am a 38 years old woman living in Bicester for two and a half years. I don’t drive and never had a driving licence. I know, very unusual for this country. But I wasn’t born in the UK and in the ‘having a driving licence by the time you hit 18’ culture. I am originally from Turkey where there is a comprehensive and affordable public transport system, as not everyone can afford a car. After I left Turkey, I lived in Germany which also has a great public transport culture. As a result, I survived without needing to drive or having a driving licence, that was until I moved to the UK.

The following email was sent on the 19th December 2020 following the Stakeholder Meeting held by Oxfordshire County Council to discuss Emergency Active Travel Fund plans for Bicester Town Centre. represents Bicester Town Division, where most of EATF plans are proposed.

Watching Sylvia - my four-year-old daughter - learning to cycle unassisted has been one of the highlights of being a parent. I now go out with her once a day to explore the neighbourhood, and as a result it has given me a new perspective on cycling for the inexperienced in Bicester: 

In some ways, quite a lot but a lovely example is that is has allowed me the time and probably more importantly, the energy to slow life down a little and get back on my bike.