Adapted Bikes Initiative: Tackling inequalities through cycling.
The Adapted Bikes project, a central focus within our life course theme inequalities, has emerged as a powerful initiative to enable more people to experience the benefits of cycling.
Two key organisations, Cascade and Victoria Day Care Centre (VDC) were identified as essential partners to enable more people to cycle. Cascade and VDC actively engage their day care users in regular bike rides, promoting physical activity, confidence building, and overall well-being. VDC not only use the bikes but also take on the responsibility of housing and maintaining them. This unique approach ensures that VDC users gain a comprehensive understanding of the use and upkeep of the bikes, contributing to the long-term sustainability of the project.
The impact of the bikes on individuals has been significant, with participants expressing increased activity levels, improved confidence, and enhanced well-being. Those that have ridden the bikes have been delighted as they have "not rode a bike since childhood" with some riders finding that they have improved posture and increased mobility.
Upon transferring the management of the bikes to Victoria Day Care Centre, the initiative has flourished. VDC has forged collaborations with Cascade, The Lookout, and Alzheimer’s Alliance, expanding usage of the bikes and offering more support services.
Addressing the challenge of bike upkeep and maintenance, VDC transformed it into an opportunity by establishing a workshop where A group of local people now meet regularly to maintain the bikes, as well as building and repairing other items. This collaborative effort has fostered a sense of togetherness, ownership, and shared responsibility for the bikes.
Drawing lessons from this success, Active Withernsea is supporting the PACE network to find ways to enable wider community involvement. The PACE sub-cluster focusing on disabilities, accessibility, and inclusivity has played a pivotal role in engaging the community, exploring the barriers, and planning for expanded public use of the bikes and integrating these into the Withernsea community.
While our primary goal is to maintain the ongoing success of the Adapted Bikes project, we are concurrently exploring avenues to expand access. Recognising the complexity of this transition, some of our PACE members have highlighted crucial considerations:
• Identifying key community partners to drive the project forward.
• Assessing the possible need for additional bikes in the community.
• Determining storage solutions and maintenance strategies for new bikes.
• Understanding community usage patterns, including frequency and demand.
If you are passionate about enabling more people in Withernsea to access the adapted bikes and be active in other ways and wish to, we invite you to get in touch via email active.withernsea@eastriding.gov.uk, call us on 01964 782299 or drop in to the Active Withernsea shop at 170 Queen Street.
Together, we can shape the future of the Adapted Bikes initiative and extend its benefits to a wider audience within our community.
