ROAD SAFETY & CYCLE TRAINING
incorporating ‘Bikeability’ and bringing Cycling Proficiency into the 21st Century ( www.bikeability.org.uk )

National and regional press releases in reverse order with the most recent first ..

2013

(for 2012 - 2006 articles please click on Archived Items)

Advice for riding off road in snow and ice ..
Special Offer National Standard (Cycling) Instructor and Assistant Instructor's Training Course in the New Year

Cycling Legacy from the TdF and 2012 Games

So much going on .. Where to begin?

In the wake of the most successful games to date, perceptions have changed which means the attitude towards our Paralympians is better than ever.  I can only say myself having been a Games Maker, that it was a priviledge to be there .. I was one of the exceptionally fortunate ones who was in the velodrome, a venue that even members of the equestrian team had heard was 'electric'.  That had to be an understatement ..

I’ve done the UKSG since 2008, in 2011 I also did the Youth Commonwealth Games in the IoM. This is all on the back of my doing a sports coaching degree. If I had to choose a best moment from London 2012, how can you separate it all out., I was in the velodrome, do I need to say any more although Rachel and Karen crossing the line at Brands Hatch hand in hand, for me showed the true Olympian spirit ..  In fact at the SW Games Makers day out at the races, Debs Criddle and Mary King both asked me if what they’d heard about the atmosphere in the velodrome being electric was true .. They said Greenwich had been fantastic but the rumours abounded and a lot of other GMs all tell us that the noise from the velodrome could be heard across the park as well .. The reality was most of us lost our voices totally during the Paras!!

What did I learn .. I learned of a love and bond of friendship that I’ve never really known before .. A lot of the GMs I will never see again but there were brief moments as we walked in every day that we connected by hi fiving each other and it never failed to put a smile on our faces - those memories will stay with me forever. What made me laugh .. Oh heck, where to begin!! What made me cry .. Oh that is the easy one .. Leaving the park behind when it was all over.

My everlasting memories – everything .. The medals and relegations in the velodrome, Prince Edward saying hello, ditto Sarah Ferguson and Kate., Wills, Princess Anne and Tim, Sophie Wessex, Harry’s crumpled shirt (I’m convinced he deliberately irons it that way), Boris going around shaking our hands, Macca conducting the velodrome to ‘Hey Jude’ when Vic was on the podium with her only gold medal, Jess Varnish breaking her heart after she and Vicky were relegated, Vic being relegated to silver after the incident with Anna, Chris Hoy winning his 6th gold and Steve Redgrave rushing down and giving him a huge bear hug when he did. The British girls riding as a team with us all doing 12 laps of a Mexican wave and their coming in a good three seconds ahead of any of the other teams on it.

Laura Trott in the Omnium, the Royals and David Cameron etc. being caught up in the magic of the Mexican waves, meeting Bob Haro who was the BMX stunt man in ET, the amazing Paralympic cyclists who certainly put things into perspective, the crowds supporting their own athletes during the Olympics but everyone irrespective of nationality encouraging whoever was cycling at the time at the paras, being invited into the field of play afterwards and being clapped in by the GMs who’d worked there, Rachel and Karen crossing the line together at Brands Hatch, Gaysli Leon, the 45 year old Haitian Paralympic hand cyclist who had lost EVERYTHING in the earthquake including his family and took twice as long as everyone else to get around but persevered and made it .. The cycling version of ‘Cool Runnings’ almost .. And breath!!

I am a track coach and with 4 functioning limbs, but cannot get up to the Stayers line (the blue line half way up) on a conventional track which only requires me to cycle at 14mph. Watching those who have spinal injuries or are double if not treble amputees doing it certainly put life into perspective for me! I had the privilege of going to Brands Hatch for the road race as well .. Karen Darke is a hand cyclist having fallen in a climbing accident 20 years ago becoming paraplegic. Watching her was extremely humbling. I have arthritis and an electric assisted bike so I can continue to ride without putting too much pressure on myself with an average speed of 10mph. Karen came in second in the time trial doing 16kms in 40 minutes or thereabout and in the road race, showed true Olympic spirit coming in at 1 hour 43 mins and 8 seconds over 48 kms, well above what I am capable of!

In Cornwall things are changing too .. There are now a handful of specialised tandems on the Camel Trail, the Draisin Twister which Lady George and her family so generously donated to Cornwall together with other Draisins that the North Cornwall Council invested in, including a Draisin Plus amongst others and another one which is now down on the Bude Canal Trail as well.

When not involved training up other instructors in partnership with the CTC which is also the basis for Wendy's PGCE, RSCT is now focusing on setting up individual training for the special needs schools in county, having had a couple of handbikes and a low level recumbent donated to CycleAbility.  This is ongoing in conjunction with the Cornwall Sports Partnership and Steve Hillman.

Please support us in our continued endeavours in this respect.  Thank you ..

British Cycling supports plan for multi-discipline facility in Torbay

British Cycling today confirmed its support for plans to develop a multi discipline cycling centre in Torbay.

Discussions about building an outdoor velodrome and a closed road circuit took place with Torbay Council earlier this year. British Cycling plans to provide capital funding assistance to bring the project to fruition as part of its 2013-2017 Sport England Whole Sport Plan.

Dave Cockram, British Cycling’s National Facilities Officer, said:  “The South West of England is in desperate need of dedicated traffic-free cycling sport facilities for both sporting and recreational use. At present there are none in Devon or Cornwall and riders are having to travel to Bournemouth or Newport to access a velodrome, or to West London or Birmingham to access a closed road circuit. The South West region has always had a strong cycling tradition, and has produced many riders who have progressed to the highest levels of international racing, and it is vital to provide safe traffic free facilities so that this tradition can continue.”

British Cycling has seen a huge increase in the number of people cycling - over 1.7 million people now ride at least once a week. The sports governing body aims to fuel this growth by linking traffic free cycle sport facilities with the growing network of safe cycling routes which will continue to enhance health and environmental benefits to communities across Britain.

Mayor of Torbay Gordon Oliver, said: “Torbay is setting its sights on becoming an area of cycling excellence, seeking to attract residents and visitors from far and wide with a range of new and improved facilities.  Cycling has a wide appeal whatever age or ability, is good for our economy, our environment and the health of our population. We have been working with British Cycling and looking at opportunities to develop a range of cycling infrastructure.  Following recent successful high profile events we are very excited about the future and extremely keen to work with British Cycling to help our plans become a reality.”

British Cycling will continue to work with Torbay Council to bring the project to fruition as soon as possible after the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Velodrome bid shows cycling aspirations

Thursday, June 28, 2012 - Western Morning News

A British cycling revolution is to spread to the Westcountry with plans for the region's first outdoor velodrome and road circuit.

Hugely successful Olympic track campaigns and the emergence of star riders Mark Cavendish and current Tour de France favourite Bradley Wiggins have seen the sport's popularity surge in recent years, with 1.7 million people climbing into the saddle each week.  But despite lottery funded facilities springing up across the UK, riders in Devon and Cornwall are still forced to travel long distances to get track time.

Now Torbay is to share in the runaway success after the governing body, British Cycling, confirmed its support for plans to develop a multi-discipline cycling centre in the resort.

Dave Cockram, British Cycling national facilities Officer, said the move would continue a "strong cycling tradition" in the Westcountry, which currently boasts leading riders, including a key member of leading British professional outfit Team Sky, Jeremy Hunt.  The South West of England is in desperate need of dedicated traffic-free cycling sport facilities for both sporting and recreational use," he added.

"At present there are none in Devon or Cornwall and riders are having to travel to Bournemouth or Newport to access a velodrome, or to west London or Birmingham to access a closed road circuit.  The region has produced many riders who have progressed to the highest levels of international racing and it is vital to provide safe, traffic free facilities so that this tradition can continue."

Discussions about building an outdoor velodrome and a closed road circuit took place with Torbay council earlier this year.  British Cycling plans to provide capital funding assistance as part of its 2013-2017 Sport England Whole Sport Plan.

The scheme could see an oval-shaped track of up to 400 metres – for competition and training – and a 2km circuit, which could also be used for athletics, roller blading and Nordic ski training.

Officials hope to begin working out the precise details after the Olympics, by which time the current crop of champion riders are hoped to have added further gold medals and possibly the first Tour de France yellow jersey winner, since the Blue Riband event began in 1903.

 
These are the original plans for the Cyclo Park in Kent from 2007 and how it now looks in 2012

Mayor of Torbay Gordon Oliver said the town was "setting its sights" on becoming an area of cycling excellence with a "range of cycling infrastructure, following recent successful high profile events we are very excited about the future and extremely keen to work with British Cycling to help our plans become a reality."

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