Our story
Time and age are all relative but it was back in the mid-1980s that Jake and Will met, spending years living in shared houses pursuing the dream of musical fame & fortune.
A number of years on and several shattered dreams later they decided to “get the band back together again”, as they sought to try and form a business that would utilise their skills and have a positive impact on their city.
Much soul searching about what to name a business that would bring bikes into the city led to the revelation that a combination of velo (bike) and city (city) could be the one, and Velocity was born.
Cutting no corners, the fleet of vehicles is led by several state-of-the-art Urban Arrow e-cargo bikes, backed up by British-made Iceni trikes and supplemented by Maxus 100% electric vans.
With Oxford being one of the most progressive cities in the UK in terms of its commitment to sustainability, Jake and Will feel it provides a massive opportunity to move away from fossil-fuelled vehicles, replacing them with an option providing a vastly reduced carbon footprint.
Jake has lived in Oxford for just over 15 years and spent most of that time running an organic veg box scheme across the county.
A history of running restaurants & bars has shaped a love of food and combined with his musical background, manifested in performing at several Oxfordshire festivals making instruments out of vegetables and playing carrot flutes to many audiences.
A father, grandfather and keen amateur footballer (playing for Headington Butchers veterans team) Jake aligns his prowess on the pitch to his love of his family's home town team Hull City - it's not about the trophies or the accolades, it's all about turning up with a smile on your face and trying to keep the smile going as long as you can. Occasionally football works as a metaphor for life.
Will moved to Cowley just over 25 years ago to play bass in legendary Oxford guitarist Andy Bell’s first post-Ride band.
After a couple of years of fun on the Cowley Road, it was time to get a real job though, and following the best part of a decade in the city’s library service, Will moved on to the Racing Post where he was Head of Customer Services until early 2022.
The Cowley Road provided the catalyst for another big event in Will’s life when he discovered cycling and joined the Cowley Road Condors in 2017. It’s fair to say the interest in cycling very swiftly began to border on the obsessive, prompting the father of three to consider whether cycling for a living could still be a career choice for a veteran.
