Cycling For All

“It can be 40 years, but you never forget how to ride a bicycle”Meet James Holloway. James works as a cycling instructor for Bikeworks and teaches adults of all ages and abilities how to cycle, and how learning, or rediscovering skills learned long ago can inspire self-confidence.“The single biggest hurdle to getting on a bike is self-confidence. From that, so much becomes possible”, James said.

“The kinds of people who are most persistent, most motivated to learn to cycle are often those people who many may assume that cycling isn’t suitable for. Older people who due to frailty may have difficulty walking moderate distances, people living with nerve damage which may affect coordination or may mean that one side of their body is weaker than the other. Cycling is ‘low impact, non-weight bearing’ and once bitten, many of the people with impairments I’ve worked with don’t look back.”

“Running a ‘Cycling For All’ session at a special educational needs school open day was exhausting! The sheer enthusiasm of students and parents to have a go and try out all manner of different bicycles, tricycles and wheelchair platform bikes was infectious. It was so rewarding to see families and carers enjoying cycling together. Many parents immediately went to see the head teacher to ask whether the school could run Cycling for All events more often, or better yet, think about getting their own fleet of accessible cycles!”“My background is in social care, and my own goal with getting people cycling as it was with social care is above all personal independence. The moment when a new trainee realises that they don’t need to rely on me (or anyone else) is deeply rewarding. It can be 40 years, but you never forget how to ride a bicycle, or the sense of freedom that comes with cycling.”