Active in every season: Joe Billington’s passion for wellbeing

Deputy Director encourages fellow civil servants to get involved with Active Wellbeing this Autumn.

When speaking to Joe Billington ahead of Active Wellbeing in February, he described himself as being addicted to cycling and the benefits of it. The perfect advocate for physical activity and reaping the rewards of it, he said “I find it to be a tremendously powerful way of getting yourself moving in the morning because it’s not an intellectual exercise, it gets your blood flowing, and you turn up to work awake and alive.”

Nearly seven months later, Joe has recalled how he cycled over 1,400 kilometres from London to Edinburgh and back again to raise money for Dementia UK. Unfortunately, the planned ride was cancelled just 36 hours into the start of his journey due to Storm Floris. But more determined than ever, he vowed to continue to Edinburgh, although it meant doing it solo.

Nothing was going to hold him back. “The roads were open. My annual leave was booked. I had wheels, time, opportunity, motive. I could go wherever I wanted. I know British roads, and I know British weather. I had friends and family along the route upon whom I could call. The world was my oyster,” he said.

After six gruelling days and 13,500 metres climbed, Joe made it back to the safety of Walthamstow where he spent his Friday night like any other punter, indulging in three dinners at his local pub with his nearest and dearest.

He didn’t stop there. Just weeks later, he spent the last week of August hiking in Snowdonia where he unfortunately took a bad fall and broke his wrist, leaving him in a cast for the foreseeable. Now he’s been forced to swap cycling for the tube and walking to the office and being the optimist he is, he sees the silver lining that this means he’ll come into the office more.

Cycling plays a huge part in Joe’s life as he uses it to commute but also clear his head on weekends, racking up nearly 150 miles a week. While Joe will not be on two wheels for Active Wellbeing Autumn, he is determined to stay active and keep his body moving through other activities.

This time around he will be doing more mellow activities like walking sections of the Thames Path with family, with the occasional lunch stop thrown in, while still prioritising going into the office during the week to ensure he gets his steps in.

Through the adversity of August, he remains in high spirits. He has since adapted a new personal mantra following his recent adventures: ‘Rainy and windy is the sort of weather you can only get if you go outside’ – a fitting reminder as we welcome the shorter days and more inclement weather.

To encourage more people to cycle and support Active Wellbeing, Joe and the Cross Government Cycling Network is organising Bikeability training in locations across central government. Bikeability is the government’s national cycle training which provides hands-on training, empowering adults and children across the UK to embrace cycling safely and confidently.

This September, Active Wellbeing is back with a brand-new run, walk, wheel, swim and cycle European Adventure, to nudge you to move more. Join over 75,000 colleagues from across the civil service and public sector by signing up for Active Wellbeing Autumn here.