Find out what our Community Outreach Team has been up to lately as we say goodbye to 2020…
Active Travel Team
- This year, our focus has been on offering bike loans, cycle training and support, particularly to key workers. In 2020, they’ve loaned bikes for a total of 1910 days!
- We also launched a Climate Action Group this year. The group, made up of local residents and volunteers, will design and run climate change events. The aim of the group is to inspire Bike for Good’s community to engage in conversations surrounding climate change, and develop a better understanding of the environmental impacts of transport. If you are interested in joining, pease email lorna@bikeforgood.org.uk.
- The team also began a Climate Change Film Club, with group online screenings taking place each month. Screenings were followed with discussions on the film and its themes. The aim of the club is to inspire and empower. Keep an eye on our social media pages for more film club screenings!
Skills and Development Team
Our Skills and Development team have adapted to all the challenges 2020 has brought to ensure they are still reaching adults and young people, particularly those who are not in education, employment or training.
- We delivered three City and Guild accredited courses for our partner schools and three Build-Your-Own-Bike courses open to young people from across the city.
- 21 people received City & Guilds entry level 3 in bike mechanics
- Nine volunteers at our South Hub and three at our West Hub have helped strip, clean, prep, or build 170 bikes since July!
- We revamped our Fix Your Own Bike area to keep it running safely during the pandemic. As a result, 146 adults and 42 young people have benefited from this service since August.
- Our Govanhill Gears Youth Cycle group is going from strength to strength. Since August we have delivered 30 sessions for 15 young people who attend regularly, including two trips to Cunningar Loop, BMX taster sessions at the skate park and riding mountain bikes on local trails for the first time!
- We have refurbished our West Hub training workshop which includes hexagons on the floor to measure distance from one other!
- We have launched an online learning platform full of handy bike maintenance resources.
- Throughout December, our lovely volunteers have worked hard to refurbish a fleet of kids bikes ready to be delivered to families across Glasgow just in time for Christmas! Our handy bike elves have refurbished 100 bikes in total and have delivered them (by cargo bike of course!) to partner charities Aberlour, Hope Start South, SWAMP, Woodlands Community Trust, Bikes for Refugees, and Urban Roots. They will then ensure they reach children who otherwise would go without two-wheels this Christmas.
Health and Wellbeing Team
- The team welcomed new member Tilly, who is now Health and Wellbeing Cycling Practitioner!
- We continue to work with Phoenix Futures who have enjoyed regular weekly rides, even in some very chilly weather and always with big grins! This weekly ride is dedicated time to get fresh air and see some new parts of Glasgow. The group feel mentally and physically fitter as a result.
- We are supporting both The Govan Community Project and Mount Vernon to establish their own self-led cycling clubs. Members of both groups will shortly begin training to become Ride Leaders so they can take full ownership of their club.
- Our Thursday Womxn specific cycling group continues to develop; the joy of this group is, its as much about friendship as it is about cycling. The term “womxn” is used to cover all womxn (cis, trans, trans-femme/feminine non-binary and genderqueer folk).
- Throughout the year, we have also delivered food from Queens Cross Housing Association, dropped off prescriptions to those shielding, made “how-to” videos, and turned our Bikes For All sign-up process into a remote service. Bikes For All memberships gave some semblance of autonomy to refugees and asylum seekers involved in the Hotel crisis.
Click to view video of BMX taster session
Each team has worked incredibly hard this year to adapt to and overcome Covid related challenges. 2020 saw a phenomenal increase in cycling and we’ll be working hard to ensure that momentum carries into next year and beyond.