The council share this latest news. Ed
Enthusiastic Island cyclists have been trained as ride leaders, through the national British Cycling ‘Ride Social’ campaign and the local ‘Isle Be Active’ campaign. The team of nine new ride leaders will be able to lead cycle rides across the Isle of Wight.
The day-long British Cycling course; ‘Ride Leadership Award Level 1’ trained up these confident and competent recreational cyclists to lead groups on the road in a safe and enjoyable manner.
Encouraging more people to become more active
The ambition is for the team to help spread the word and encourage more people to become more active. They will be creating and leading local group rides, because it’s something that they love to do and want to share that passion with others. Ride Social is an easy way to find other like-minded cyclists and get out on bikes together.
The Ride Social campaign team included people with a wide range of cycling experience, from different backgrounds, but all with a passion for cycling:
- Kevin, 50, from Newport is a former competitive mountain biker who wants to help others get more involved in cycling as a sport and recreational pastime.
- Jeff, 54, from Newport used to spend much of his commute on a bike, but after sustaining and injury stopped cycling. He rediscovered his passion for the sport three years ago; he now rides at least twice weekly and is keen to pass his enthusiasm on.
- Jo, 39, from Niton wants to: “be able to encourage more people out on bikes” and she took the course to improve her knowledge, awareness and leadership skills when leading on the road.
‘Isle Be Active’
‘Isle Be Active’ is an Isle of Wight Council initiative that was created through Sport England’s Community Sport Activation Fund, and has worked alongside the Department for Transport (DfT) Local Sustainable Travel Funding (LSTF) since 2015, and has undertaken regular social cycle rides as part of the campaign. As part of continued funding through recent DfT Sustainable Travel Transition Year (STTY) funding, this initiative is able to continue.
Councillor Shirley Smart, Executive Member Public Transport, Tourism, Recreation and Heritage, said:
“‘Isle Be Active’ has been running for a couple of years now and aims to encourage more people to get active, to engage more with the outside environment, change their habits, and think about how they can travel more sustainably.
“This could be as simple as getting off the bus a stop earlier and walking the rest of the way, walking or cycling to work, or getting out on the bike over the weekend and making the most of our beautiful Island and the fantastic cycle routes we have available to us.”
Isle Be Active cycle ride
The next Isle Be Active cycle ride is Tuesday 30th August, 10am, from Freshwater to Yarmouth. For more information about social cycle rides on the Isle of Wight and when the newly qualified team will be adding their organised events, please go to www.goskyride.com/Social
Eight of the nine participants are now able to lead guided cycling events across the Island, either independently using their own initiative or as part of a wider coordinated series of events. The Ride Social team will be supported by the Isle of Wight Council with promotion and support as applicable.
Another course is currently being arranged – if you’d be interested in becoming a Ride Leader and completing a fully-funded qualification, please contact [email protected]
