Boz - The Baker

He's a mountain biker, a converted roadie a gentleman and surprisingly a baker of talent !

At Velo, everyone brings something to the party and Boz is one of those guys.  His cake has become almost institutional on a Saturday morning ! Its been in place so long I have lost sight of when it started but the unassuming sometimes bearded, bespectacled mountain biker, persuaded roadie starting rocking up with cake to accompany the post Saturday coffee! So established has this become that he gets requests for certain members favourites!

Not content with smashing each other up local climbs such as Hanchurch as is the usual way on a club ride, this has recently developed in to a bit of a Bake off rather than Bike off with new entrants in to the post ride provisions! Boz is holding his own though and has been the mainstay of the post ride cake hit!

So the purpose of this Blog is simply to say - To Boz - Thanks you are a Top Bloke !

If you fancy a sociable ride on a Saturday Morning we always do a steady 2 hours and everyone gets round. But you might want to put the hammer down in the last mile or so if you don't want to be in a Que for the Coffee Machine - and of course Cake !!

If Boz was a  Lego Mini Figure !

Cobbles, Cafes Chain Gangs and Selfies - Velo.

Cobbles, Cafes, Chain Gangs and Selfies !

Flanders April 2014

So here we go with the first of my Guest Velo Blogs and given its the end of the year I thought I would provide my perspective on the year from a Velo member perspective!  Its  been quite a year for the club -The start of which included the launch of the very stylish new club kit and a relaunch of the membership scheme by The Management - Jeffers and the Williams Sisters!

Its been a massive success and the club has seen rapid growth! I went on the Sat ride last week and led out a 23 strong group up the Eccleshall Road despite the cold conditions ! 

But this has got me thinking - what is making us successful ? well the membership scheme is a no brainer given it pays for a service and gets you access to all the rides and member discounts in the shop. 

But thats not the sole attraction.  For me its the approach, we are not an old school elitist racing led club where non racers are made to feel second class, we are a modernist group of guys who just love riding bikes and everything that goes with it! 

Our facebook page is testament to this as it is more likely to be adorned with the latest set of action shots from inside the peleton rather that a list of Time Trial Results from the weekend etc.  You are more likely to find the latest picture in a series of members rides framed by a random farm gate or the latest cycling landscape art / selfie from Paul Hollins !

  

Hollins - Selfie Tastic

All of this is usually backed up by a load of Banta followed by the random suggestion of actually going for a ride some time!  

We are not anti racing at all - in fact some of the guys have got into the racing scene this year and that is likely to progress into next season. Watch this space. The Thursday night Chain gang is now pretty established and postings will recommence in Jan time to reignite the burners on those fast pace runs - and remember guys the last lap - its every man for himself ;-)

For me its been a great way of meeting people having returned to live in stone 4 years ago and at that time the only people I knew were - my parents!

Velo is a cycling based community, a developing one, in which everyone brings something to the party !

2014 started for most with the Cheshire Cat Sportive run out in pretty shocking weather !

In April 5 of us went over to ride the Tour of Flanders Sportive.  Having suggested this trip, as I rode into the first sector of Pave and the bars came up to meet my hands, my thoughts were a combination of shit this is going to hurt and the guys are going to murder me! 

Everyone got around though and we had a great laugh in particular partying on top of the Kwaremont with what seemed like the entire population of Belgium the following day was simply awesome!!  

Beers, Bikes and Belgians - The top of the Kwaremont

  

Another Leg Breaker was the Malvern Hills classic!! Mental amount of climbing !!

Getting my Legs broke By Andy Prince - A theme of the year ! 

The Annual Dougie Mac charity ride was a real highlight with a massive turn out from the club and we rolled out to Llangollen in a big group and hardly felt I had touched the pedals at half way - not sure Andy Prince did as he was - rather hung over ! 

Below are a few more photos that sum up my thoughts on Velo and our growing community of crazy mad cyclists ! See you on a Sat ride soon guys and have a fantastic Christmas and heres to a 2015 full of cycling !

 

Mow Cop - Classic Early season training - Malkin and I went on to ride 100 this day including the length to he Tissington Trail just to mix it up! Epic Day.

Epic Winter Ride out to the Peak - Classic.

Ade Cash - Shortly After Smashing it round flanders ! 2015 is going to be a great year for this guy !

Baggleys Tours are a big feature of the year - Vertical days out involving cafes! Great to see Martin this year after probably 25 years since we were in V.C. Pierre together as kids!

Paul Hollins - Fast becoming the Jens Voigt of Velo! 

Cops on Bikes - The Uber Commuters Michael Palmer and Paul Broomers ! 

The Chain Gang !

The Pros Mount the top of the Kwaremont April 2014 

CTL Launch Walking Bus Programme

Back in the warmer months CTL won a small contract to set up a sustainable travel programme in 8 Primary schools in Stoke on Trent. At the same time we were approached by a few Primary schools to run some Pedestrian training for their students.

If your a school who is interested in setting up similar and can access some funding then why not call and see what is involved

I would like to thank the team from Cyclist Training Ltd for the ‘Stepping Up’ pedestrian training that was delivered at Burnwood Community School on 08/12/14.The tutors were friendly, professional and knowledgeable. The training was specific to our school and the problems on the roads surrounding the school and the worksheets reflected this.This training has been added to our bank of evidence which has allowed us to achieve the Gold Modeshift Stars Award and has also resulted in the school being awarded the Modeshift Stars School of the Region for the West Midlands.Many thanks to you all for such a worthwhile and essential programme.Mrs. E. Wickham, Deputy Head Teacher, Burnwood Community School, Stoke-on -Trent

The whole programme went live in December and we will be working with the schools teachers students and parents to help them establish walking buses and scooter trains. Along side this will run a series of Dr Bikes, scooter Training, Learn to ride and Bikeability Levels 1, 2 & 3.

Velo Christmas opening and Ride

Not long now till Santa turns up with his array of presents for all the good riders this year, I doubt Vino will be getting anything.

Anyway for those of you who want to buy your own present or send your significant other to buy it, heres when were open and what rides either Me (Peter) Tom or Simon will be leading over Christmas

   

University & College Bikes Returns

The first phase of the Education Local Sustainable Travel fund comes to an end with a christmas break so could all students and staff please ensure that Bikes and Equipment are returned to Velo for safe keeping and maintenance.

Each site has an allocated pick up time shown below. It is essential we see all bikes at this so even if you want to keep it over christmas you must bring it to the drop off to be seen by a member of Velo Staff.

All bike will then be redistributed when the colleges and universities return after the Christmas Break.

Bike Loan Returns and Calendar Launch for 2015

16/12/2014            Newcastle College          09.00 am - 12.00

16/12/2014            S-O-T College                09.00 am - 12.00

16/12/2014            S-O-T 6th Form              01.00 pm - 15.00

18/12/2014            Staffordshire University 09.00 am - 12.00

18/12/2014            Keele Universtiy            01.00 pm - 15.00

Anyone who cannot make these dates must contact Simon Mansell by e-mail

simon@cyclist-training.co.uk

Dirty Dozen | It's Pittsburgh & A Lot of Other Stuff | A Program by Rick...

Theres got to be Stone version

of this we could run next autumn as a sportive ?











Theres got to be Stone version

of this we could run next autumn as a sportive ?

Would you run faster Naked ? (warning Strava content)

I have started to run naked.
Well kind of and Mondays run was a revolution thanks to it.


My Garmin Forerunner watch has been playing up so its gone back to madison for some love, and so  I found myself for the first time in a long time, running performance tracking naked.

I had no way of knowing my pace, distance speed heart rate recoverys or my oscillation. So I just ran. I stopped for photos at gates i watched the clouds and the otter near the river, I ran down paths, lanes and alleyways. and it was great because what i didn't know wasn't dictating what I was I up-to.

I realised afterwards I must run looking at my wrist. Checking if I'm going fast enough or if Ive gone far enough. But with out I didn't even know how far Id gone and instead of checking I started to relax and run. And do you know what I ran further than normal. A full mile and half further and I enjoyed it.

So give it go, I know that from here on in Im pretty tempted to try running Strava naked again, but perhaps not always :-)

Christmas Learn 2 Ride in Stoke & Crewe

The two most popular camps of the year are back, if you want your child to learn to ride their own bike or gain a few safety skills then sign up now. These camps book up really fast and their is limited spaces available. 

How to Fix a Flat With Lance Armstrong (watch out Tom)

Velo & three shires loop

 

 

Velo Set to Ride the TDF, well kind of ...............

Just last week the Bora-Argon 18 team received its Professional Continental licence for the 2015. The team, previously NetApp-Endura, also officially announced its new name for the coming season and released the team jersey.

In a recent visit to the BORA-Argon 18 home by the director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, the team stated that its top priority for the season is to return to the world’s most important cycling race.

Ralph Denk, team manager of BORA – Argon 18, said;
“We want to be back at the Tour de France next year. We are trying very hard to get a wild card and are quite candid about our goal.
...We are the only ProConti team that was allowed to ride all three Grand Tours over the past three years. We reached the podium in all of these tours, surprised a lot of people with our performance and proved that we deserved to be invited."

Fitting it in

So on Monday I'm not going to be inthe Alps, or hacking it down some Moab slick rock. I'll also not be cycling across a desert or even finishing the coast to Coast.  I won't even be in Keswick, Cannock or Coed.  Instead on Monday I'll be  going somewhat reluctantly to work before finishing at five, rushing to after school club pickups to dash home for a fast cook tea before the whole family heads back out. My wife goes to gym and I'm taking my kids to the first of the weekly clubs (guides) which lasts for a total of 1.5 dark and usually damp hours. To far away to bother going home and then going back I prefer to wait. But I have a secret weapon on Mondays. Early that day I've got riding tops, tights  and shorts out ready to put on after the fast cook tea and I've also stashed my mountin bike in the back of the van along with riding pack. Because Monday nights is guide night which means 1.5 hours of mountain biking for me.

 In the world of epic this wouldn't register a tremor, with its single lanes and double track climbs and yet it never ceases to put a smile on my face. You see the thing it's my adventure, my escape from the monotony of work. It's free and it's only doorstep away. But it doesn't end there on Thursday last week in between appointments I had a two mile trail run in the heart land off industrial West Midlands. This was preceded by two in between appointment runs and two cycle to  work commutes.

I like most of you after the work shopping family social commitments have zilch riding time, so most of the time if I'm riding / running then I'm I'm fitting it in.

And do you know what ? It's just the way I like it. I get a real buzz of self ( and smug) satisfaction of getting In a cross country run while everyone else is bed, or splashing through puddles along the canal and dodging road kill on the bike into work while everyone else endures traffic jams and Chris Evans. Or sliding through the mud picking on empty trails on a Monday night while everyone else is either a guides the gym or pretending to enjoy I'm a celebrity. 

Yeah I'd love to be on some mega Trans Alp Epic and hit the trail centres every weekend but for me, for now that ain't gonna happen so I'm more than happy to keep fitting it in.

Watch out for The trail ninjas.

Does this explain the loss of Piley,Cookie and other Tnr's http://www.bikemag.com/news/imba-acknowledges-existence-of-clandestine-hit-squad/

Never Bored

As a boy if I ever I said " Im bored" I always got the answer "Well go outside then" I was either a pain no one wanted around or they knew that if your outside you can't be bored, its impossible.

I still find it impossible. Theres to much going on and my favourite that goes on is th weather. Grey leaden skies, the wind whipped fields and trees or the smell on the wind as its just about to snow. I even like the rain.

I just love being part of the environment as it changes and things happen. Passing through and connecting to landscapes on foot or on a bike allows this to happen like nothing else I know.  Its this connection that I love the most. Connection to hills, dirt, singletrack, trails wind, rain, heat, roads, and of course riding partners. And I know this is weird but I even like the taste or rides.

Its these things that keep riding and have started me running. Not the KOMs on Strava, although we secretly crave them, or being faster than John, (I prefer to be faster than myself when I want to be). No its the landscapes over the hill, round the bend or the new and familiar.

Having said that it never ceases to amaze me how reluctant I can be to leave the warmth of the fire, the comfort of the armchair, to turn  my back on the goggle box or get out of bed to get outside and even walk the dog, run or ride. But as soon as I close the back and door breathe in the fresh air, or feel the first chill of outside Im happier.  So wether its your 1 mile dog walk, your three mile run or your ride home from work tonight - tomorrow enjoy it, cos somewhere I'll be enjoying mine.

Happy Weekend
Peter

Compression Sir ??

Having recently been converted and convinced of the benefits of compression following a running injury in summer, both Mr Pine and Adam from Wilier Performance had persuaded me of the benefits I can't wait till we get this in stock. 

Swiss brand will be available from Velo M via Madison from 1st January 2015 

COMPRESSPORT has signed a distribution contract with Madison.

The brand's range has been available in the UK & ROI since 2009 with ranges for triathletes, runners and cyclists and will now be distributed to the swimming, motor and snowsports markets as well.

COMPRESSPORT is the existing Official Compression Partner of many world class triathletes and trail runners, of several Pro Tour cycling teams and supplies international swimmers, motor cyclists and ski mountaineers. All products are developed in Switzerland and manufactured in Europe.

"We respond to the problems that athletes face daily," said Jordi Solé, COMPRESSPORT International MD. "Whether to improve performance, enhance recovery or to help them in their everyday life.

"COMPRESSPORT cooperates closely with athletes, scientists and physicians to meet athletes' requirements in compression, endurance and recovery.

"We are extremely happy to partner with Madison as our new distributor in UK & ROI and look forward to work jointly with Madison's team to take COMPRESSPORT to the next level in the UK & ROI."

Madison brand director Will Fripp added: "Madison is truly excited to be working with the market leader in compression technology; COMPRESSPORT. Compression wear presents a big opportunity as a new category for many of our dealers in cycling, triathlon, run and even motocross markets as it benefits all those from seasoned athletes to weekend warriors and sportive riders."

Tools For Christmas, Birzman review

Sick of Socks ? then ask your significant other S/O for this very tidy little number. Or accept that you'll never get bought one as a present and buy it for yourself.

Great Birzman Reviews

Birzman produce top quality tools that are used by professionals around the world, so it's not surprising products receive such positive reviews!

Check out some of the most recent - 

Birzman Studio Tool Box 37 pieces:

Birzman - Studio Tool box - £299.99 SRP                            
'Blows away everything for quality, range of tools and design. 
A great selection of high-quality tools in a tough case. Lust worthy.' - What Mountain Bike

'Kit to lust after – a great selection of high-quality tools in a tough case. 5/5' - BikeRadar verdict

Midlands today Runs Terrible Cycling story

Just watched the evening BBC regional news and see that Midlands Today has joined the cyclist's get hit by cars on purpose debate, or as it appeared in the news piece Warickshire Police seem to have decided its your fault if a car hits you.

Yes, cyclists need to make sure they can be seen but for god sake I ride in primary / secondary position as set out in National Standards and still drivers cut me up, abuse me with shouts or beeps, use their car to intimidate or force me to a move out of their way. Why is this not being addressed in the news?

Is it because the same five police stood on a junction in Warickshire aren't doing anything about it and therefore it can't be reported ?  Hows about asking the police a few investigative questions like how many of the drivers that hit the record high 179 cyclist were at fault and prosecuted ? Or how about some cycling has changed my life , saved me a fortune, helped me stop smoking type story to add some balance to the risk (like driving a car is more dangerous than the bus but its gets you their quicker and it doesn't let you down), Come on BBC your meant to be good at this stuff.

Its Tuesday and Simons in Charge

I've unfortunately got two weeks of unmissable appointments ( daughters parents evening - very missable and the following week the same daughters birthday and a Chinese take away - not missing) So it was either Tom till Christmas or Simons in charge. So we all went with the latter & so it is thats Si's getting a sleep in and he is running the Velo TNR, so be warned anything can happen but you can bet it will either hurt or be fun,  maybe evenprobably both.

Planning Granted

Velo got some great news yesterday with us being given full permission for our bespoke Alpine cycle shed, and more importantly to continue the combined trading of Velo and CTL at Emerald Way. This follows some difficulties we faced last year due to Velo becomg so successful and the planning permitted on the estate.

Fortunately  Staffordshire County Council and Stafford Borough council have a proactive approach to cycling and sustainable transport. After the business model of CTL and Velo was presented to them by Peter Weatherhead of Weatherhead Planning and the diligent work undertaken by the highly professional John Turner, the planners were able to see just what a valuable asset the two companies are in moving cycling forward, not just in Stoke and Staffordshire but the work we do in Cheshire East and Stockport. Ctl and Velo train over 30,000 people a year on safe cycling and we are part of the reason the areas we work have one of the lowest cycling Ksi rates in the uk despite a dramatic growth in cycling in our areas. And we're not just a posh bike shop. This year Tom 2x Simons and Nick will have ran over 100 Dr bikes offering free bike serving to some of the communities that need it the most. 

So thanks to all wether you've helped with the application, your one of 40+ excellent CTL instructors, one of the top police team that helped so much with the burglary outside and beyond their job, or if your one of our Brilliant Velo customers or club member, thank you and see you soon on the Velo TNR or the Sat club run or just grabbing a coffee in store in our new borrow a book library.

Thanks

Peter & Sarah

A few places left - Ride Leader.

We have one or two places left on our Ride Leader Course next Tuesday 28th October.

This course is for low level rides with two qualified leaders on routes such as converted railway lines, canal towpaths, and other off-road cycle infrastructure. Course covers leadership, navigation, group management strategies, games, fun, etc… Combined training and assessment course. No hidden costs.. From £125 per person.

Call Peter on 01785 818193 to reserve your place.

Mac Forest

Fancy this one for the Tueday ride during November ?

ttp://www.getamap.ordnancesurveyleisure.co.uk/?key=Jhpx5QpNouUaUEAlP9AWgg2

Autumn & First Snow

Before sitting down tonight to watch the News or Strictly What Ever, check out this video  and then make yourself a promise not to miss out on our local and (nearly) equally stunning scenery. See you on Saturdays ride.

http://vimeo.com/59614925

Oh yeah, the first snow fell this week in Highlands, Im looking forward to our first, any bets on when it will be ?

Free Lights for Commuters in Stoke

The nice boys and girls over at Travel Smart have asked us, (the not so nice, but much better bike mechanics) to put on two Pit Stops in Stoke On Trent this week. The first one is running on  Wednesday 22nd of October 5.15 to 6.15 next to the canal near the Britannia Stadium. Just ride over to us, fill in survey about bike travel and get a free set of lights. Follow the same routine on Thursday - except this time we will on the canal near the bridge to Festival Park.

Winter Miles ???

Sunday saw the Velo M club ride head out for a first run of winter and for some steady miles onto the edges of the Peak District. And well it got me thinking what is a winter run and its base miles. We all band it around but what should we be looking to get out of it.



Well for me its two fold, its getting out on the bike despite the weather and just enjoying being out on the bike with friends.
But in terms of training to be fitter and faster what should our miles look like ?, and what the bugger are winter miles anyway?


Well my take on it, is that winter is a time to ease back on intesity and think of it as a base for evertyhing else to come from, a foundation. The better the foundation the higher the peak will be. This is where your endurance comes from, but dont be fooled into thinking that your foundation is flat, you still need hill miles if you want to ride hills in summer, but they should be controlled and done in your levels/zones, none of your foundation should be done at peak levels. In the past it was thought the best way to build a base was, get out on the bike and ride lots of miles. This resulted in a lot of ‘junk miles’. ‘Junk miles’ refers to miles added into your training plan with no purpose other than to increase your mileage count. However Junk miles are some of my favourite miles, but then I suppose Im a bit strange. I like the wind, rain, snow and fog, but thats because I like winter boots, Gore Jackets and Gloves, not to mention lights and winter bikes.

Princy checking his Make up at the back of the group.

Whyte Bikes / Short Sleeves / In October Demo Ride

Great turnout last night for the Whyte Demo night at the Velo Store. Niel Halcro from Whyte came along with 905 T129's and G130s. We had twenty riders out and hit the trails acoss the downs and Spooky woods. Via (with out stopping) barlastons own cannabis factory, the smell alone gave it away.

Paul who hasnt riden a NTB since childhood showed us all how not to pull a wheely going upo hill and then how to walk home from the downs after picking up a punture whilst being dropped off the back. Thanks Paul

Every Tuesday a 6pm the club rides out from the Velo Store,  guests are welcome to come along and try us out. We also have Weekly Saturday road rides and mlonthly Sunday rides.

Wilier Performance Testing at Velo

Autumn has arrived.

September was a mega busy month for us in CTL with Velo seeing a pick up after the summer lul of holidays and the shock of back to work / school.

With the help of four new instructors our team of 46 instructors trained 3086 children across Staffordshire Stockport Stoke and Cheshire East in all levels of Bikeability. This essential road saftey session enable children  and adults aquire the skills to make journeys on the bikes in a variety of road scenarios from quite roads on Level 2 or town and city centre commuting in Level 3.

Meanwhile Sam and Nick have been busy taking groups of year 3 and 4 out on thier Scooterbility training. Between them they have trained 273 children in September alone.  This fun course covers all sorts of skills but essentially teaches children how to choose good road crossing points and how to cross the road.

At the other end of the education scale CTL and Velo have been busy on the college and university sites across North Staffordshire. Working with the Travel smart scheme we have loaned out forty free loan bikes to students and staff wishing to ditch the car and travel to and work/ study by bike. Weve also been holding DR bikes with how too maintenance sessions and cycle confidence sessions.

On the Business front weve been working with Churchill China Emma Bridgewater BT, Hanley Building Society and Michelin running Dr Bikes sessions for staff . Along with route planning, learn to ride and Cycle Confidence for employee's

Churchill1795 ‏@churchill1795  Sep 15

Today at Churchill we had a visit from http://Dr.Bike  @velomstore helping staff fix or advise on problems… http://instagram.com/p/s-aFR0OFH5/ 

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Velo M has been running its Thursday night Chain Gangs and had rides heading out into the Deep Peak District, Cosford and our Saturday morning club runs.  Our Tuesday Night MTB rides are as gresat as ever and in October we have our Whyte Demo Day. Thats on top of delivering a maintenance course for Shrugborough Outdoors Eduction Centre building, 40 odd Scoots for Stoke Schools, and taking in all the 2015 bikes from De rosa, Whyte, Mondraker, Kinesis and Willier.

Me well Ive started to pick up on my running and cycling with my first plus 100 mile week for some time. Hopefully this will continue as we have some new additions to the team Amanda In the offie looking after Staffordshire bookings and Simon working across Bikeability and LSTF contracts.

We also hgad our very first Brompton Challege race in Stoke on Trent, check out our Velo facebook site for more of the photos but heres a few.

 And October ........

No mans land

Summer''s gone.

Brilliant, cos  Autumn is nearly here.

Three quarter length   bibs,

Night lights ,

Waterproof boots,

Hip flasks,

Gone is green bring on yellow, orange and brown with purple grey skies and deep pink sunsets.

Riding with moon.

Clear trails.

Cafe stops

Full length gloves.

September

Almost Autumn.

 

Staffordshire Cycling Festival

So as your checking your saddle bag we will be  loading 3 vans with a full work shop ( to fix your bike), spares (for what you forgot) & bikes (for the +1 you want/need)

The Willier performance test rig, double awning and biscuits, 

See you Saturday ;-)

TABS warns of risk to funding for Bikeability training

29/07/2014 Advocacy

The Association of Bikeability Schemes (TABS) has welcomed the recommendation on cycle training put forward by MPs in theTransport Committee’s 3rd report on cycle safety published on 14th July. This said that cycle training should be available to all cyclists: children of primary and secondary age, adults seeking to gain confidence, and those looking to refresh their road skills. It also said local authorities should work with local cycling organisations and retailers to fund and promote this training and ensure that it is best suited to the local environment.

TABS also supports the Committee’s call for stronger monitoring and evaluation data in order to assess the contribution cycle training makes to improving cycling skills and confidence and getting more people cycling more often with less risk.

Michael Frearson, one of the directors of TABS said: “We would like to work with Government to explore how data on road safety and cycle usage could be used alongside other data to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of cycle training in improved safety for cycling.

“We think cycling is for everyone, and with training it becomes a much safer and more enjoyable form of everyday transport than the media sometimes allow. Bikeability gives children and adults the skills and confidence they need to cycle well on today’s roads, increasing their independence, health and wellbeing, and reducing risk for all road users. We give our full support to any research effort demonstrating the effectiveness of Bikeability in achieving these goals.”

However, TABS expressed concerns over the recommendation that that local authorities could fund Bikeability in the future. Under current arrangements, the Department of Transport distribute £24m between April 2013 and March 2015 to local authorities and SGHOs who submit annual grant applications based on the number of training places they can deliver in each local area. This method results in 50 percent of children in England receiving Bikeability before they leave primary school.

TABs warns that removing national funding would herald a return to the piecemeal provision Bikeability was designed to replace, and put at risk the quality and effectiveness of training provision as local authorities struggle to fund another area of discretionary spending.

David Dansky of TABS said: “We urgently seek assurances from the Department for Transport that this recommendation will not be accepted, and that the Government intends national funding for Bikeability to continue through the next Parliament.”

The Association of Bikeability Schemes is a trade association which works with the Department for Transport to ensure the highest quality of delivery of Bikeability cycle training. k

Parents fail kid's cycle MOT test - News - ActSmart

Working in the industry I find the article below interesting with a few headlines but lacks a little substance. And while the numbers are no doubt true it doesnt tell us any thing about the whys or wherefores



We deliver cycle training to over 20,000 children a year and in the Autumn term will be delivering over 50  Dr Bikes in Primary schools in Stoke on Trent alone, along side 26 learn to ride sessions.  They are always well attended and the children love the training but it needs a consitent approach from central goverment and local authorities with long term funding given to actual cycle bodies to fund grass routes comunity cycle projects in all areas not just areas of Depravtion.

And how about putting funding into things like Cannock Chase the busiest trail centre in Europe with the least amount of funds. Surley the health benefits of mountain biking deserve funding to be thrown at it to promtote more people to take up more activity, not just adverts and leafletst. Build more trail facilities and legalise the secret ones  & give a full accesss rights to mountain bikers as they do in Scotland instead of restricting them all time.



There are more people cycling but I feel if there more facilties coupled with DR Bikes Good bike shops and Bikeability there would be a hell of a lot more



Parents fail kid's cycle MOT test - News - ActSmart