Blog: Eddington Number and cycling

As we enter summer, the Eddington Number cycling and walking challenge is returning to encourage everyone to use sustainable transport and get more exercise.

The Eddington Number campaign started a couple of years ago and is based around the Eddington number for cycling – which takes its name from its inventor, Sir Arthur Eddington, who was also the astrophysicist, astronomer and mathematician that the Eddington neighbourhood is named after.

The Eddington Number is a way of measuring your cycling and walking progress and mileage. It is the largest number of miles you have cycled or walked on the same number of days. You can calculate your Eddington Number on our dedicated website and also join the Eddington Number community on Strava to get inspiration for local rides and see how other riders are taking part in the challenge.

Our emphasis on cycling and walking at Eddington seeks to put sustainable travel as a first choice for residents. There is a huge environmental benefit to cycling and reducing the number of cars at Eddington and elsewhere in Cambridge: fewer emissions, less traffic, better air quality. There is also an important health and wellbeing element, and less cars mean Eddington is a nicer place to be for the local community.

We have a number of cycle initiatives to encourage Eddington residents to cycle more. There is a cycle loan scheme where residents can borrow a bike from Outspoken Cycles for one month to see if it suits them, for just £10. It could be a normal city bike, a folding bike, an electric bike, whatever they need. That can include helmets, locks and accessories for kids. If you’re new to cycling then it’s a good way to test it out for a month to see if that is how you want to travel. At the end of the month there’s the option to buy the bike if the resident wants to, but no obligation to.

We also have a Dr Bike scheme, which is open to the whole Eddington community. These are monthly free bike maintenance sessions that you can book online and Dr Bike will check your bike is safe and well maintained, and they also do bike marking for security to log your bicycle with the police so if it is stolen the police know it belongs to you. We also run bike maintenance workshops for free to help people understand how to repair their own bikes should they need to.

We offer free cycle training for all levels of cycling ability, from people who can’t ride a bike up to someone who cycles every day but wants to be safer. Even people who have been cycling for years find it really useful – sometimes to correct a bad habit or to get more confidence at a different junction in their commute. The cycle training is there to give people extra help if they need it, and can be used in conjunction with the cycle loan scheme.

Eddington residents can contact the Travel team on travel@eddington-cambridge.co.uk for more information or with any questions. Please note that, due to coronavirus lockdown and social distancing, services may currently be affected.

• Calculate your Eddington Number here