I live on Beake Avenue in Radford, the Ricoh is quite easy to get to for me - I could get the bus there after work and walk home afterwards for the warm down Just seems silly they force you to sign for 12 months especially at the moment when everyone's jobs are at risk! Surely better to get as many people in as possible, a lot of people would be put off by committing for 12 months right now.
Why do you want to go to a gym..? Is it to improve your general fitness, build muscle, lose weight, etc..? If it's for general fitness and weight control, buy yourself a treadmill, it'll be cheaper than a subscription over time and you can use it anytime. I use one 5 times a week and i'm fitter now than when i was 15 years old and that was a very long time ago!
Isn't the gym at the Ricoh like £44 a month? I was going to join but there is the powerleague gym just down the road from me for £10 a month so I joined that.