Wheely amazing commute!
02 Jul 2012
A couple from Liverpool joined more than 500 staff for the University’s Annual Cycle to Work Day – making it the biggest one yet.
Senior Training Assistant Kelli Black and her partner, Safety Coordinator Anthony Cassidy, set off from Liverpool at 6am and arrived on campus at two minutes to 9am!
Kelli, at the Division of Human Resources, said the 43-mile journey was peaceful and enjoyable for the most part: "I never would have guessed leaving at 6am was the easy part. Cycling through the country lanes was peaceful and enjoyable. Cycling the last 10 miles through Manchester proved the most difficult."
She added: "I’m new to cycling. I started in January of this year but Anthony’s been cycling with the Liverpool Century Road Club since 1989. He knows the country lanes by heart. When I asked if we could participate in the National Cycle to Work Day he was more than happy to lead us to Manchester.
"UMBUG’s ‘Monthly Cycle to Work’ is such a great idea; guided safe routes to the University. Without Anthony’s wealth of cycling experience and familiarity of safe routes I wouldn’t have had the confidence to make such a journey.
"Planning a safe and quiet route makes all the difference to an enjoyable peddle to work. I’m planning on doing it again; as soon as the sun comes out!"
The University’s Sustainable Travel Planner Andrew Hough, said: “Obviously these huge journeys are fantastic but for the vast majority we are trying to promote a flexible approach to travelling to work. That could mean cycling for journeys under five miles or so, to and from train and tram stations or just as and when you can i.e. in the summer, once or twice a week.”
Kelli and Anthony’s route: Out of Liverpool over the Runcorn bridge, through Daresbury, through Stretton to Lymm, to Altrincham before zigzagging to Timperley, Sale, Northenden and West Didsbury and along Princess Parkway.
For more information on the event, see: