MORE than 30 adults have gained in confidence thanks to free one-to-one cycling sessions in Taunton.

The participants, aged from 18 to 75, took part in the initiative provided through Taunton Area Cycling Campaign, with funding from Big Bike Revival.

Nick Warner, the qualified instructor who has lead each session, praise the cyclists he worked with in the 90-minute sessions.

He said: "It’s amazing to work with people who are driven to learn and simply want to develop their cycling abilities and reduce their dependence on cars.

"Cycling through town regularly, it’s obvious that the road infrastructure is full to bursting. Anything that takes even one car off the road and adds to an individual's health is a major step in the right direction."

The sessions have taken place all over Taunton, frequently starting at Vivary Park, which has cycle access.

Cyclists either follow the cycle track to a local car park to work on initial skills before heading onto quiet junctions to focus on strategies for undertaking basic manoeuvres or they head off along main roads to discuss and then negotiate more complex traffic situations.

Some rides simply wanted to find a safe route to and from work and others wanted to be able to cycle with friends, while a small percentage wanted to re-learn how to ride a bicycle.

One of the cyclists, Sarah Appleby, said: "I feel so much more confident. I cycled to town on Sunday and navigated the roundabout in the middle of town and then have cycled to work on Monday."

There is stil time to be a free one-to-one cycle confidence building sessions - for details e-mail contact@thetacc.org.uk