A Day Out by Bike to Stanley Park (Blackpool) 24/05/2011

Having a Great Time at Stanley Park

As part of their Easter holiday activity programme Boathouse Youth, the CTC Young Peoples’ Group of the Year, organised a day out at Stanley Park for their junior section.  

Transport to the Park was using the fleet of bikes they have purchased with the funding provided by Sport England.  We all gathered at St Peter’s Church, eagerly looking forward to the day ahead.  After making sure everyone had a suitable bike and that helmets and clothing were adjusted, we set of in small groups to meet up at the new adventure playground which has just been built at Stanley Park.

   After a couple of hours playing on the new equipment we went up to the Lake for a treasure hunt and Easter egg search.  This was great fun as the young people chased all around this fantastic green space in the heart of Blackpool on their bikes, with a bit of healthy competition thrown in.

After lunch, we went down to the Sports Arena.  I had arranged to borrow the adapted bikes from another Bike Club, Blackpool Wheels for All and we had a great time, as the young people tried out all the different bikes which are adapted so that people with special needs are able to access the benefits of cycling.  We organised a series of races on the athletics track which proved really popular.

On the way back we decided to practise the technique of snaking where the young people rode two abreast and the adults protected the ‘snake’ from traffic leaving the yousters to simply enjoy their cycling without having to think about traffic.  It worked really well and is definitely something we’ll use in the future.

Back at the Youth Centre, everyone agreed it had been a great day out, made possible by using the bikes.  Trying the adapted bikes, which are a Cycle Blackpool project, had been a really great part of the day.

What a Great Day Out!

The Icing on the Cake in Blackpool 19/05/2011

Camping Expedition by Bike

During the Easter holidays, I was involved in the best Bike Club actvity I have seen to date.  Why was it so good? Because the whole thing was planned, executed and reviewed by the young people themselves.  If this was the icing on the cake, the cherry on top was working towards  silver youth achievement awards.

The destination was Waddecar Scout Camp, about 25 miles from Blackpool. 

The young people, who are all members of Boathouse Youth, went to the shops and bought their own food for the trip.  They then gathered all the relevant camping kit together and loaded everything into panniers and packed them onto road bikes ready for the off.  They had previously planned the route to the camp site and a strategy for keeping everyone together on the roads.  A full check on the road worthiness of the bikes was also carried out by the young people.                                                                                         

Packing the kit

On the day of the trip, we set off from Blackpool trying out the skills learnt on last year’s Bikeability course (delivered by Cycle Blackpool) to negotiate the traffic.  We were soon on quieter roads when navigation skills were fully tested.  The young people coped admirably.

Making a brew

Our first stop was at Elswick, where we lit up a Trangia and boiled up some welcome hot drinks.  We had a late lunch by the canal near Garstang, leaving just five miles to cover over the first real hills of the day.

Arriving at Waddecar, the young people soon set up their tents and got a fire going.  They then set up thier Trangias and cooked a delicious evening meal.

Next morning, in heavy rain, the young cyclists cooked breakfast and dismantled their camp ready for the trip back.  On this second day there were no issues with route planning and the party were back in Blackpool by 2 pm.  The gear was wet but thier spirits were not at all dampened.  Everyone agreed it had been a fantastic expedition and they are really looking forward to doing it again at half term.

For me, it was wonderful to see the sustainability which has been achieved by this group over the  last year.  They have gone from buying in ride leaders and hiring bikes to a stage where they have thier own fleet of bikes, courtesy of Sport England, and an enviable stash of equipment.  They have trained up their own leaders and volunteers but have now reached a stage where the young people are managing the greater part of the activity with all the attendant benefits for their learning and self confidence.   

With trips like this, it is not difficult to see why Boathouse Youth recently picked up the award for CTC Young Peoples Group of the Year.

Eager anticipation...

Blackpool Youth Group wins CTC National Awards 19/05/2011

The CTC AGM, Annual Dinner and Prize Giving was held at the National Sailing academy in Weymouth over the weekend. CTC are the National Cyclists’ Organisation and a Bike Club partner organisation.

I was absolutely delighted to be a guest at this prestigious event when I accompanied Boathouse Youth, from Blackpool, to collect their prize as CTC Young Peoples’ Group of the Year 2010.

To make the event even more special, the guest of honour was Magnus Backsted, who as a professional cyclist won the most famous spring classic race the Paris – Roubaix, together with several stage wins in the Tour de France and Giro D’Italia. He is now the Vice President of UK Youth, another Bike Club partner organisation and Founder and Manager of Team UK Youth, the most recent professional cycling team.

Collecting the prize from Magnus

Magnus presented the prize to Laurance Hancock, the Youth Worker, in recognition of the fantastic programme of cycling activity which his organisation have provided for the young people of a particularly deprived part of Blackpool.  The trophy is brand new and is sculpted from bike parts.  Laurance’s colleague, Ben Wilson, collected the prize as Runner Up Young Volunteer of the Year 2010 for his part in organising the programme of cycling at Boathouse and the distance he has travelled over the last year from being a none cyclist through to completing a Coast to Coast ride just a few weeks ago.

Ben Wilson, Runner Up, Young Volunteer of the Year

I felt so proud to see a Club from Blackpool picking up these new awards.  They were thoroughly well deserved,  given the brilliant experiences that the young people have had since the Bike Club was set up last Easter and there’s a lot more planned for 2011.   Magnus made reference to the partnership working which had particularly impressed the judging panel, including that with Cycle Blackpool, who were key delivery partners throughout 2010.  

Being at the Dinner gave the three of us a great chance to swap ideas with other groups and we were really interested in a cycling trip to France for 50 people which is being organised by a Bike Club from Exeter.  This is something we would really like to emulate when a funding opportunity arises.

At the start of the Wessex CTC club ride

still smiling despite the hills

         To make a great weekend even better, on the Sunday morning,   we joined up with Wessex CTC, who are celebrating their cetenary, for a really interesting ride around the Dorset countryside.  Coming from Cumbria, I thought that southern hills would be easy.  How wrong I was!!.    

We had a great time as guests of CTC and were really pleased to make the long journey back up north with two major awards recognising the fantastic work being done in providing lfe changing experiences for young people in South Blackpool.

Blackpool Young Mums Get on Their Bikes 08/04/2011

Last year saw a successful pilot of bike rides for teenage mums taking part in the Connexions Energise project, an initiative designed to help young mothers regain their confidence and to acquire some key skills to help them back into further/higher education or employment.

The bike rides were postponed during the winter months but with better weather supposedly on the horizon the girls were keen to get out on their bikes again.

A Wednesday in March was chosen for the resumption of the cycling activity and with eager anticipation everyone gathered at the project headquarters in the resort. Unfortunately, it was just too windy for inexperienced cyclists.  Undeterred, the girls, who had not ridden a bike for many years, tried out their skills in the church hall and after they had gained some confidence, ventured out onto one of the headlands. As you can see from the waves in this picture it was a bit windy! The young mums weren’t out for long and I can’t say I blamed them. They soon came back inside for a hot drink but were full of enthusiasm for a proper bike ride.

Two weeks later, on the most glorious day imaginable, they were able to ride down the promenade to St Annes whilst volunteers looked after their babies. My colleague from CTC, Karen Carter and I met up with the girls at a cafe as they were making their way back. They were really enjoying being out in the fresh air and having some time to themselves.                                                     

We rode back to Blackpool with them and were delighted to hear how much they had enjoyed the experience and how enthused about cycling they were..

This is a really great project that was initiated by Bike Club in partnership with Cycle Blackpool but now has a life of its own. The bikes were kindly loaned by another BlackpoolBike Club, Boathouse Youth, from their fleet purchased with a Sport England grant.

Its yet another example of the great things happening in young peoples’ cycling in Blackpool.

Dual National Cycling Award for Blackpool Bike Club 04/04/2011

 

CTC Young Person’s National UK Group of the Year 2010

  

The Boathouse Youth, which is just starting its second year of operation,  has recently been awarded “National UK Young Persons’ Group of the Year” by the Cyclist Touring Club , the National Cyclists’ Organisation, and Bike Club partner. The group was nominated for the award by local Bike Club Officer, Damian Bonsall, who has seen the tremendous work the group have carried out during the past 18 months. He has been particularly impressed by the focus on fitness through cycling and their recent investment from Sport England. He said “The Boathouse Youth was the first Bike Club to be formed in the UK and it’s absolutely wonderful what has been achieved”.

The young people enjoyed a full and varied programme of cycling activities throughout 2010 and some went on to complete Youth Achievement Awards, which are a nationally recognised accreitation, administered by another Bike Club partner organisation, UK Youth.  The club leaders became qualified cycling instructors and ride leaders after attending a number of CTC training courses.

 

Ben Wilson

 

Bikeability Instructor Training in Blackpool 16/03/2011

CTC National Standard Instructor Training

One of Bike Club’s partner organisations, CTC, recently became a registered training organisation, approved by the Department of Transport to offer Bikeability, the Cycling Proficiency scheme for the 21st Century.   This means that they are able to train leaders to provide Bikeability training to young people, equipping them to cycle safely and confidently on the roads. 

Bike Club’s key objective is to make cycling, amongst young people, sustainable and one of the best ways of achieving this is by training as many adults as possible. Therefore, I was delighted to host a CTC National Standards Instructor course in Blackpool.

The instructor training mirrors the coaching which young people receive, in that it is divided into to two levels. Bikeability Level one covers essential bike handling skills and takes place typically in the school playground; level two introduces participants to riding on the road, covering signalling, negotiating junctions and positioning.  The Instructor Course also covered essential theory including risk assessments and child protection.

The level one part of our course took place in Stanley Park and then we moved onto the roads of central Blackpool for level two. We even had the opportunity to practise level three situations on a notoriously busy and aptly named Hospital Rondabout!

 Delegates came from organisations all over Blackpool and thanks to Bike Club there are now ten more adults trained to instruct young people in the techniques of keeping themselves safe on the roads of the resort.   Some will work with the existing trainers from Cycle Blackpool, doing such great work in the town’s primary schools; others will work with existing Bike Clubs including Blackpool Youth Cycling Association and Boathouse Youth.

All the delegates thoroughly enjoyed the course and learned a lot about their own style of riding.  They are really keen to go back to their groups and help the young people in their charge to enjoy their cycling by helping to overcome any trepidation about venturing out on the roads for essential journeys, such as to school or to visit friends. 

Many of the new instructors are already planning rides taking advantage of the lighter nights and better weather.  I look forward to meeting up with them and will report on their progress over the summer.