Uncategorized – Page 3 – Bewdley Bike Week

January 7, 2022January 7, 2022

Accessible Bikes for all

This year Bewdley Bike Week activities are being made even more accessible by the inclusion of the Stourport Disability Hub bikes allowing anyone with a disability to join in.

The Stourport Disability Hub has a range of adapted equipment on site which includes handcycles, tandems and trikes, making the sessions accessible for all.

Stourport Sports Club is home to an HSBC UK Disability Hub, providing a range of activities for anyone with a disability to access the sport of cycling. Riders of any level are encouraged to attend these sessions.

The HSBC UK Disability Hub will provide regular monthly traffic-free coaching for people with a range of disabilities. The hub sessions are organized and delivered by British Cycling coaches, offering support for people with a physical or learning impairment to improve their fitness, technique, and confidence.

The hub sessions help riders with a range of goals; whether to get into a new sport, meet new friends, improve fitness and confidence, or rehabilitate from injury.

Riders of any level are encouraged to attend these sessions.

Please see the link below to find upcoming disability hub dates. We would also encourage any friends and family to come along to the session and ride free of charge. If you would like any further details, then please contact the lead coach Richard Pedersen

Regular Sessions

December 20, 2021February 24, 2022

New team members!

As we are putting together the plan for 2022 we have new team members joining the planning of Bewdley Bike Week – the Emily Jordan Foundation, specifically their cycling project Spokes.

At Spokes the staff and trainees work together to recycle, repair, and service bikes which are then sold to the public. This makes bikes affordable to the whole family.

We train people to complete the different steps to a task so their skills improve alongside their confidence. They are given the opportunities to get involved with the day-to-day running of the business, such as answering the phone, serving customers, placing items for sale on online platforms, and managing our stock.

November 2, 2021November 2, 2021

Thinking of buying a bike for a child this Christmas?

Advice here from Clive Prince of Push Bikes!

Bikes for Children

Bikes often appear in letters to Santa, but as children grow so quickly it is often tempting for parents to buy a cheap one. Unfortunately, cheap bikes are poorly made and often as heavy as an adult bike. This means they don’t last and are difficult for a child to learn and use. As a result, they often end up unused and rusting before being consigned to the tip.

Photo kindly supplied by Worcester St John’s Cycle Club

From the age of around three, there are several ways for your child to develop and gain confidence before going solo on two wheels. Trikes are a good way to get used to pedaling without having to learn to balance. Tag-alongs, attached to the back of an adult bike, are great when you want to take children along on a ride with you. Balance bikes, with no pedals, are however the best option to get your little one started as they help a child to learn how to balance and steer without having to worry about pedals and gears.

At some point however your child will need to learn how to cycle a ‘proper’ bike. Stabilisers are often attached to a child’s first bike, but they can delay them learning how to balance the bike so, if used, gradually raise them off the ground as they get more confident.

The national cycling charity, Cycling UK, provide a useful guide to buying bikes for children https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/cycling-guide/right-size-bike-child but here is a quick summary of their top tips:

Buy a bike that fits your child now.
Make sure its not too heavy.
Suspension is dead weight and unnecessary.
More gears aren’t better.
Semi-slick tyres make the bike easier to pedal.
Handlebars should be higher than the saddle.
Brakes should be easy to use.
Cheap bikes are a false economy.

Islabikes www.islabikes.co.uk and Frog Bikes www.frogbikes.com make some of the best children-specific bikes. Isla only supplies online and direct from their Ludlow premises. The main local stockist of Frog bikes is Worcester Cycle Centre (Hallow). Dirt Works (West Malvern) and Echelon (Pershore) are a couple of other local suppliers.

As children outgrow bikes so quickly it is often possible to purchase good quality second-hand bikes too. Ask other parents at your child’s nursery or school and check out eBay, Gumtree, and adverts in the Worcester News.