Chief Medical Officer to launch Bike Club in Scotland 25/06/2010

A Glasgow event on 30 June will launch Bike Club in Scotland. This programme will soon be helping children and young people aged 10 to 20 to learn new life skills through cycling.

Bike Club will inspire young people to become participants and leaders of fun, creative and inclusive activities using cycling-related activities as a way of improving physical activity levels, health, learning and social inclusion for young people, especially the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Harry Burns will be speaking at the Bike Club launch, and will be joined by key decision-makers from the areas of education, public health and road safety.

Bike Club has been formed by a consortium of three well-established charities. UK Youth brings together youth groups, ContinYou is an organisation that promotes non-formal learning and CTC is the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation.

Youth Scotland, the network of youth clubs and groups in Scotland, is working with the consortium to establish Bike Clubs in East Lothian, Glasgow, Midlothian, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife and West Lothian. The two Bike Club Officers based in Edinburgh and Glasgow will work closely with organisations such as youth clubs, youth groups and schools.

The UK Bike Club manager Sarah Troke says “We are looking forward to this development for Bike Club which will provide us with the opportunity to work with groups of young people, to engage them in fun, interesting and unique cycling activities, and to help them to apply for funding.”

The development of Bike Club, initially funded by the Department of Transport in England, has been brought to Scotland thanks to Asda’s Pedal Power fundraising campaign.

Bike Club’s Scotland launch event will take place on Wednesday 30 June at 11.30am – 2.30pm in the City Chambers, Glasgow. Press are welcome and are invited to inform Bike Club staff if they will attend.

For more information or an interview contact Suzanne West of Youth Scotland on 0131 554 2561 or suzanne.west@youthscotland.org.uk

Alternatively, contact Bike Club Marketing and Communications Officer Clive Andrews on 07717 721511 or clive.andrews@bikeclub.org.uk

Further information about Bike Club can be found here at bikeclub.org.uk

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