Cycling and nature offer individuals health and wellbeing benefits, as well as the potential to contribute to local, national and global sustainability goals. Sometimes cycling and nature coincide, e.g., cycling through natural landscapes or on urban greenways, but little is known about the role that perceived nature plays in cycling experiences, outcomes and decision-making. This paper presents preliminary findings of the first phase of an ongoing, doctoral research project using mixed methods, which comprised a survey of adult residents (n = 260) of the West of England area who had cycled recently. This phase of the research aims to contextualise further qualitative findings within a pragmatic interpretivist approach. It also represents a context-specific attempt to build on existing literature by quantitatively measuring the different ways in which nature plays a role in cycling experiences in a specific local area. The convenience sample was recruited through local cycling events, organisations and shops, using online and offline methods with targeting to ensure it was representative of the local cycling population in terms of selected demographics. Analysis was primarily descriptive, with some statistical analysis of key variables. The characteristics of the sample are presented and compared with those of published national representative surveys. Findings relating to the role of nature in cycling experiences, outcomes and route choices will be presented as well as relationships between nature connectedness and other variables including use of motorised modes to support or enable cycling activities. These findings will be discussed with reference to the conference themes and wider implications.
