When Alex started The Bike Club - the UK’s first monthly kids bike subscription service - with her husband James, they operated the entire business from their flat. Fast-forward five years, and the company now has over 25,000 kids' bikes in circulation. Alex’s passion and dedication will give many girls and young women the opportunity to ride a bike, and help to address the current gender imbalance in cycling. 

Alexandra Rico-Lloyd said…

"It is no exaggeration to say that cycling has changed my life in a significant way. I first really got into cycling out of necessity - choosing a 26 mile round-trip commute on my pink handlebar’d Btwin named Milo, over being stuck on the train every day. I really enjoyed the sense of freedom it gave me as an affordable and enjoyable way to travel anywhere in London. 

"When I met my husband James, he didn’t own a bicycle. Our second date was a Boris-bike cycle through London and we started going on more and more rides together, until it became something we both loved doing together. Before we started having children, we enjoyed cycling holidays across Europe - something we can’t wait to get back to as the kids get older. 

At first, we ran the company out of our third-floor flat, meaning lots of mess, and lots of time lugging bikes up and down stairs! Fast forward six years, and we’ve got over 30,000 members across the UK

Alexandra Rico-Lloyd

"Our love for cycling is what led us to found The Bike Club together. At first, we ran the company out of our third-floor flat, meaning lots of mess, and lots of time lugging bikes up and down stairs! Fast forward six years, and we’ve got over 30,000 members across the UK and operate out of a 20,000 sq ft warehouse in Rainham. 

"I have many, many happy family memories as a child on my bike. It’s something I want to pass onto the next generation; inspiring families to get out and about. Ensuring that children have safe, high quality, and correctly sized bikes is key to cycling becoming not only a life-time skill, but something to be enjoyed. 

"The thing I love the most about my job is receiving a huge number of messages from parents, carers and children saying how much they love their bikes - I look forward to seeing many more in the months and years to come."

Nominated by…

Alexandra was nominated for the 100 Women in Cycling by Jack Mayorcas, who said: 

"As the co-founder and chief operating officer of The Bike Club - the UK's first monthly kids bike subscription service - Alex is playing a key role in enabling future generations of women to experience the joy of cycling. 

"When Alex started The Bike Club with her husband James, they operated the entire business from their flat, with Alex often lugging bikes up and down three flights of stairs. Fast-forward five years, and the company now operates from a 20,000 square foot warehouse in Essex, has recently secured £5.7 million funding and has over 25,000 kids' bikes in circulation. 

"We all know just how vital it is for children to build confidence early in life when it comes to cycling, and The Bike Club allows them to do just that - providing new bikes as they grow. 

Alex’s passion and dedication will give many thousands more girls and young women the opportunity to ride a bike, and help to address the current gender imbalance in cycling

Jack Mayorcas

"Alex and James often speak of the pride they feel at the many positive messages they receive from members enjoying their bikes. Alex’s passion and dedication will give many thousands more girls and young women the opportunity to ride a bike, and help to address the current gender imbalance in cycling."