Visions of future sustainable transport routinely feature cycling. Replacement of short journeys by car with cycling in urban areas could help to reduce traffic congestion, improve the quality of the urban environment, benefit personal health and well-being and contribute towards a low carbon economy. However, rates of cycling for everyday travel in the UK have continued to decline as lifestyles have become more car dependent and cycling marginalised. The National Cycle Network (NCN) developed by Sustrans is a significant policy intervention aimed at creating a cycling culture. The importance of urban traffic-free cycle paths in encouraging people to cycle is often assumed, but despite large aggregate datasets characterising users, there is no research on the effects of such interventions on the local communities which they serve.