Cycle Week 0.1

It's Wednesday! Cycling news!

(p.s. You'll be happy to note that I kept my word about exercising... for exactly 1 week. I jumped rope, I did zumba, I walked more than 10 miles up and down a coastal path [and even ran up some of the steps- go me!], I kayaked... and then I came home from holiday and have done nothing since. I hear you sigh. I'll get better, I promise! From now until next week, I'll do at least 10 minutes of cardio 4 times and will report back on the hilarity that is me, in my living room, doing zumba.)

So on Monday, I started my new job. My employer participates in two cycling schemes: the aptly named Cycle Scheme and Evans Cycles Ride 2 Work. Essentially, here's how they work:

• I find a bike and get a quote
• I pass the quote to my employer and register some paperwork
• (Hopefully) my employer approves my request
• I sign a hire contract with my employer which details a 12 month salary sacrifice agreement
• A voucher is sent to me to redeem for the bike and accessories (I'm sooo getting a cool helmet like the one in the pic above which I found on the very great London Cycle Chic)
• After 12 months if I want to keep my bike and accessories, my employer can transfer ownership to me (I'm then taxed on a benefit in kind at the end of the tax year). If not, my employer collects my bike and accessories

I'm not super savvy at the whole tax thing, but I do understand that:

• I get to pay for a sweet bike over 12 months instead of up front
• Because the salary sacrifice (payment for the bike) is taken off my gross salary (before taxes), I'm taxed on less income each month which means I save money

I'm a bit unclear as to what happens after the hire period as some other schemes would have you pay a fair market value for the bike at the time of taking ownership. I've emailed my employer's Environment Team to find out about this and the tax I'll have to pay on the benefit in kind (will this mean my savings over the year on Income Tax and National Insurance will go down the drain?) but have yet to hear anything. I'm going to forge ahead with looking at bikes (I've already done a bit of wish listing) and get a quote and see what happens! I'm more keen to do this as I've discovered that even with a discount card it is costing me £4.20 to get to work and back on the bus when it was previously costing just over £1 on the tram! Bloody murder! Also, and potentially even more annoyingly - there are crying babies on buses and assuredly there will not be on my bike.

In the meantime, cycling is everywhere! The mayor of Vilnius drove over a car parked illegally in a cycle lane the other day, I've seen ads to take part in this Life Cycle thing, and there's a poster up at work about getting a free cycling information pack from Sustrans. I already knew of Sustrans for the great advice on cycling for women available (Bike Belles); I think they're working hard to change our lifestyles. I'm getting there and so can you!