Discover Cycling - Get Ireland Active

Bike to Work Scheme
To help promote the use of bikes for
commuting the government run a
scheme that allows employees to
purchase a bicycle and associated
accessories tax free.
The scheme covers bicycles and
accessories up to a maximum cost of
€1,000. The bicycle must be purchased
by your employer but the scheme can
then operate either with your employer
bearing the full cost of the bicycle, or by
way of a salary sacrifice agreement in
which you pay for it, tax free, over 12
months. If the bicycle is purchased
directly by the employer, it can be
claimed as a tax exempt benefit in kind.
Where it is financed via a salary sacrifice,
the employee saves on income tax,
levies and PRSI.
The employee chooses the bicycle and
associated equipment (locks, helmet,
pumps and lights) that he or she wants
up to €1000. The employer then
purchases the equipment on his or her
behalf. It is then up to the employee and
employer to decide how the bicycle will
be paid for, whether the employer buys
the bicycle outright for the employee or
whether the employee pays for it via the
salary sacrifice.
For more information on the
bike to work scheme go to the
website: www.bikescheme.ie
Mark Lidwell
Age 54, Cavan
At the ripe old age of fifty-four, I have
taken up cycling. The object of the exercise
is simply to try to remain fit and healthy –
I have no illusions of emulating Lance
Armstrong! My mount is a Raleigh Pioneer
Metro which I imagine is the workhorse of
the cycling fraternity as opposed to the
racing filly with its downturned handlebars
or the steeple-chaser with its tractor tyres.
At the moment I ride out three mornings a
week, for anything from thirty minutes to
an hour. I tend to set out at an ungodly
hour of the morning, which has the
advantage of avoiding traffic, as well as
neighbours fearing the onset of
Alzheimer’s disease. Living at the top of a
steep hill means an easy start but a
ferocious final furlong.
Dress is optional – hitherto I remain lycrafree!
Helmet is obligatory. Apart from the
usual aches and pains, I do suffer from the
embarrassment of saddle-soreness, and
am looking into the possibility of investing
in padded shorts. My recurring nightmare
is a puncture in some out-of-the-way
place because, although I do possess a
repair kit, the likelihood of carrying out a
successful operation on the side of the
road is negligible. So I always pray for a
safe return.
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