Dilys Gartside, CTC Volunteer of the Year

Having been discouraged from cycling as a child, my head was turned from car to bicycle while studying at Law College.  Aged 26, I bought my first bike and commuted to work for a decade, disregarding jibes about inappropriate behaviour for a female solicitor in Thatcher’s 1980s!   Such behaviour continued when raising a family: ‘sharing lifts’ with other children meant everyone going by bike.

I taught many children to ride under Southampton Council’s cycling scheme but realising much more was needed, in 2005 I retrained and qualified to teach the National Standard Cycle Training syllabus (also known as Bikeability) and set up CycleWise to work as a freelance instructor and campaigner for cycling, giving up my law practice and going fulltime with CycleWise in 2008.

I act as Media Coordinator for Southampton Cycling Campaign, often speak on local radio and helped make the BBC1 documentary exploring alternative modes of transport in ‘Dom on the Case of Cars’ shown earlier this year.

I organised the largest ride in the country for Five Miles to Fabulous 2008 aimed at getting more ladies on bikes  and was delighted to be named as  CTC Volunteer of the Year for South East England at the annual Awards Presentation of the UK cyclists organisation.