Why Liverpool ‘joy riders’ are coming together to explore the city by bike at night

A group of Liverpool cyclists have become a familiar sight around the city, riding around with music playing as they explore the city at night.

But The Joy Ride, which takes place once a month, isn’t just an opportunity to see the sights after dark.

Dan Robinson came up with the idea to connect people, build their confidence and help them gain skills to deal with challenges in their own lives especially around dependency and mental health.

He launched Joy Ride eight years ago as part of his Peloton Liverpool project, designed to promote safe and accessible bike use in the city.

By being part of a group he says riders get a far greater sense of wellbeing and achievement than they would cycling individually.

He said:

“Something starts to happen after about a mile on the bikes, it’s a kind of camaraderie which is a peloton – like when birds fly in a flock,”

“There’s a connection for whatever reason, it could be the endorphins, and we feel a bit more conjoined.

“The peloton uses its energy and we start forming into a group that protects us and also makes it more fluent and easier.”

Dan, who is a trained therapist, set up Peloton Liverpool 11 years ago after a cycling trip with friends.

He explains:

“Me and my mates go cycling together in different countries and the idea came to me in a place called St George’s Gorge in France, by the Pyrenees.

“Three days in I realised what we were doing fitted something called self-determination theory which is one of the things I used in the counselling room.

“In the 1960s they started using this in counselling and it moved from there to business, sports, politics and now it’s a model that works right across the board.  It’s based on three things: promoting autonomy, relatedness – so people have to understand why they do the things they do – and competence, developing the skills to get by.

“As a group we had all three – we all had to get up this hill by ourselves, we knew why we were doing it, and competence-wise you learn how to do it whether that’s about fitness, the way you cycle, or even the gear you’ve got on. 

“I could see that the bike was the perfect model for self-determination theory so I thought I could use it to replicate what I provided in the counselling room and take it out to a wider base.”

Dan, who lives in Kensington, left his job to set up Peloton Liverpool as a social enterprise then launched Joy Ride three years later.

Initially it was aimed mostly at people in recovery, but the pandemic saw it reach a new audience.

“So many more people got a sense of loneliness and isolation then, and I think everyone started liking the outdoors a bit more so we opened it up,” adds Dan.

The monthly sessions are now usually every last Friday of the month, meeting at the university outside Peloton Liverpool’s shop around 6pm before setting off on a route lasting around 90minutes.

“We try to make it as accessible as possible so we set up those who haven’t got bikes and those who haven’t got lights, and our mechanics have a look over the bikes before we set off.

“We have a speaker at the back and front so we have music when we go round, and people are always engaging with us so when they hear the music we get lots of whoops from stags and hens and people on a night out in town.

“We don’t just ride around the city centre, we have lots of routes that take us out to other places and one of the nicest ones we do is going through Dingle because kids come out to run alongside and sing along which is lovely.”

Each ride has up to 40 cyclists, and the group now has over 500 members who book on to take part.

Dan says he chose Friday night specifically because it can be a particularly tough one for anyone having addiction issues.

“Friday night is when people in recovery can get the itch because you can come to the end of your week and think ‘I deserve this’.

“I know Liverpool needs its Friday night culture, we’re hugely dependent on people coming here and having a buzz, but for me the thing I love best about Liverpool is how attractive it is. It’s a beautiful city and I swing around like a gull on a Friday night with a big gang and it’s cinematic.

“People who come on the Joy Rides love it, they get to make mates, and maybe start habits that are going to be lifelong and will actually keep them well.”

Find out more about The Joy Ride here.

Find all the latest Liverpool news here.