At Cycle Together, we believe that freedom, confidence and community should be within everyone’s reach — even behind bars.
In 2024, we launched the UK’s first women’s prison cycling programme. From prison yards to community roads, we’re using bikes to support women’s health, build skills, and create real pathways to brighter futures on release.
Why This Work Matters
Women in prison are some of the most marginalised people in our communities. Many face multiple barriers before and after custody — from poor mental health and long-term illness to unemployment and isolation. For mothers, the stakes are even higher: finding stability and connection is key to rebuilding family life.
Cycling is so much more than a sport in this setting. It’s a chance to feel free, even for a moment. To gain confidence in your own body. To build skills that can lead to work, or reconnect with community.
How It Works
Our approach has three simple pillars:
1. Health & Wellbeing — Guided cycling sessions boost fitness, mental health and resilience, with wraparound support and trauma-informed coaches.
2. Skills & Confidence — Women learn cycle coaching basics, bike repair, and route planning — building practical tools they can take beyond prison gates.
3. Pathways to Employment — We link participants to local employers and training providers so that when the gates open, they’re not alone.
Real Stories, Real Impact
One participant told us:
“Cycling helps me feel normal again. I’m not just here — I’m learning, I’m moving, I’m free in my mind.”
So far, we’ve supported over 100 women in prison to ride, repair, and reimagine what’s possible.
What’s Next
This is just the beginning. With the right partners, funders, and volunteers, we want to expand to more women’s prisons across the UK — proving that bikes can be a powerful tool for hope, health and opportunity.
How You Can Help
🌟 Sponsor a place — Fund a woman’s place on the programme.
🌟 Partner with us — Offer jobs, training or routes back into community.
🌟 Spread the word — Share our story, champion our work.