Free cycle skills instruction - why not Ottawa?

Post date: Nov 30, 2011 5:17:44 PM

Cycle Training expands

Free adult cycle training is now available in all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester. The free training has been a huge success in Manchester over the past 18 months and has now been given additional funding from the governments new Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

Freewheeling is a great way to get in to cycling. It's easy to fit in to daily routines as the two-hour sessions are running during the week and at weekends. We can even provide free use of bikes and helmets during the training, commented Liz Clarke from BikeRight!

Originally funded by Manchester City Council, the initial Freewheeling project was aimed at people who live, work or study in Manchester and for a range of abilities, including:

. Learn to Ride for people who never learnt/cannot ride a bicycle.

. Level 1 courses for beginners and those who are not very confident about cycling

. Level 2 courses for those who have cycled for a while and want to develop new skills or for those who are returning to cycling after some time

. Level 3 for cyclists who want to hone their skills and develop specific techniques for tackling busy urban areas with a view to commuting by bicycle.

The training is based upon the National Standard for Cycle Training

Results from initial Manchester Freewheeling project, 700 cycle training places:

The majority of the adult cycle training sessions delivered were for the basic levels - Level 1 (209) and Level 2 (196). The participants self-assessed their own level of cycle experience and the level of cycle training that they felt was appropriate for their needs. However, BikeRight! staff assessed their actual levels of experience and training needs during each training session. The level of cycle training experience achieved was recorded on the evaluation forms.

Nearly 25% (174) of the adult cycle training places delivered were for �Learn to Ride� sessions.� This practical experience reinforces academic research evidence that significant numbers of adults never learned to cycle either during childhood or in later life.

It was also clear that some people, particularly those attending Learn to Ride sessions, would require more than one cycle training session in order to help them to progress to a level where they can regularly cycle to work. The average number of cycle training places per participant was 1.35 sessions.

. A total of 121 (17.3%) Level 3 (1:1) sessions were delivered. These sessions often took place on the trainees route from home to workplace.

. Over 76% (534) of the Freewheeling cycle training places were delivered to women participants. In terms of age, the 31-40 age band (30.9%) received the largest proportion of places but there is a fairly even spread of participants across the 18-30 (27.9%), 41-50 (22.2%) and 51-60 (15.6%) age-bands.

Posted on Wed 30 Nov 2011

Source: http://www.tamesideradio.com/news-read.php?article=661