Upcoming activity
skills and development:
- The next Spokes not Blokes session takes place on Tuesday 6th July! At our South hub yard, get expert advice from women & non-binary members of staff and maintain your bike. Slots are available from 5-7:30pm. Book a Spokes not Blokes slot online.
- New team members Marketa and Alexis are delivering an exciting new project for New Scots, including Fix Your Own Bike classes on Tuesdays and cycle lessons and rides on Wednesdays. The project includes partnerships with other organisations working with New Scots and the feedback the team have received so far has been really positive. Potential partnerships so far include the Govan Community Project, Bikes for Refugees and Refugee Survival Trust. If your organisation works with New Scots in Glasgow and would be interested in delivering a partnership on this project, please contact the New Scots Coordinator Marketa.
- The next maintenance class is on Saturday 24th July from 12:30pm. There’s only four spots left, so be sure to sign up quickly if you’d like to attend! Book a maintenance class slot through our website. If you’d prefer to learn in a 1:1 environment, you can also book a private training lesson on our Maintenance Classes website page.
- Fix Your Own Bike is back up and running after the lockdown with hour long slots available at both Hub yards. Book a slot for Fix Your Own Bike at the West on 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. Book a slot for Fix Your Own Bike at the South on 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month.
- The team have partnered with the Adventure Syndicate to deliver a bikepacking project for women & non-binary people! The 8 participants will be training throughout July and August ready for their expedition in September.
Active Travel:
- The team will be hosting a family led ride in Springburn park in partnership with the Pitstops Project on Monday 5th July! Contact Greg from the Pitstops Project to join the ride.
- Cycling lessons have been really busy and the team are nearly fully booked until the end of July! There’s still some available slots at our West Hub for adult cycling lessons and at both Hubs for children’s group lessons. Book a cycling lesson slot for July.
- The team will soon be assisting training company Fleetsource in delivering practical cycle training.
Health & Wellbeing:
- The women & non-binary rides are busy and everyone is learning really fast! There’s a few slots left for rides and lessons this month, taking place on Thursday mornings at both our West and South Hubs. Book a women & non-binary lesson or ride.
- The team are continuing to deliver group courses to community organisations with 2 sessions running most days! The new Phoenix Futures group are learning all the skills they need to train as ride leaders so they can deliver sessions independently and the Homestart and NG Homes groups are growing in confidence every week. If your organisation would like to deliver group taster courses, get in touch with Pippa, the Health & Wellbeing Coordinator.
Previous activity
Skills & Development:
- The team have employed three new excellent team members! Marketa and Alexis are delivering the New Scots programme and Will is organising Govanhill Gears for young people at our South Hub.
- The team delivered some great events for the LEAP Festival Fortnight encouraging LGBTQ+ participation in sport, including a Gears for Queers maintenance class and Queer Bike Tour of Glasgow where they cycled to places of cultural and historical significance for the LGBTQI+ community listening to audio clips along the way. The stops included Category is Books, Glasgow Autonomous Space, Pride House, LGBT Youth Scotland, Merchant City’s gay area, the Women’s Library and the Emirates Velodrome! Finally, they received a talk by Phillipa York on her experience as a professional cyclist and woman with a trans-medical history.
- Build Your Own Bike is back! After not delivering any courses since November due to the lockdown, the team have had a successful course with 5 participants very happy with their customised bikes. The team are excited to see the courses shape up to be a great programme as there’s been very positive responses with lots of referrals so far!
- The team have also been able to recruit volunteers for the first time since March 2020! They’ve been working hard on organising an online system to ensure that there will be a steady stream of new volunteers by the end of July.
Build Your Own Bike participants working away on their bikes.
Build Your Own Bike Coordinator Filip helps a participant adjust their wheel.
The happy Build Your Own Bike participants with their completed bikes!
Robin and Hannah on their way to delivering the Queer Bike Tour of Glasgow.
Queer Bike Tour participants outside of LGBTQI+ bookshop Category is Books.
The happy Queer Bike Tour participants!
Active Travel:
- The team have been supporting some excellent new cyclists through cycling lessons. Gladys was a complete beginner and is now almost ready for road lessons after just a couple of beginning sessions!
- Gail, one of our Active Travel Coordinators, delivered the first family bike buddy session to Gill and her two sons teaching them how to commute safely together!
Gladys learning to ride during a cycle lesson!
Health & Wellbeing:
- The team have been exploring Pollok Park with NHS Esteem and saw two Highland calves and relaxed by the river!