Bikelife North Northants
PLEASE NOTE THIS PROJECT HAS NOW FINISHED. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN FUTURE SIMILAR OPPORTUNITIES PLEASE FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO SEE LATEST LOCAL EVENTS. www.facebook.com/brightwayzuk
Bikelife was brought to you by us here at Brightwayz. It was a project funded by the Department for Transport through North Northamptonshire Council and was set up for local people who can cycle but needed a bit of extra confidence in cycling for everyday journeys. The project started in October 2023 and was extended until March 2024. It was completely free of charge to participants.
See Bikelife in action on our short video
Priority with places was given to NHS and care sector staff (we promoted it to them first) but it was open to anyone who lives or works in the county aged 18+.
Programme Stages
The Bikelife programme was made up of two stages:
Stage 1 Bike Check, Learn to Fix and Cycle Skills - Three and a Half Hours (split into a 1.5 hour 'cycle check/learn to fix' and a separate 2 hour 'level one cycling' if preferred)
- Half an hour session: Cycle check and maintenance session by a qualified mechanic. If participants didn't have a bike, a suitable refurbished bike was loaned with the potential to keep at the end if required. If bikes needs basic repairs our mechanic ensured the bike was fixed so it was safe enough to ride and simple fixes completed. If more expensive fixes were needed eg with special parts, our mechanic advised what was needed and particpiants either choose to pay for the work or wait until they had their voucher and use that to cover the costs.
- One-hour session to learn to fix and maintain their bike: e.g pump up tyres, puncture repairs, safety checks, how to lock securely etc
- Finishing with a two-hour session in an empty car park/hard surface playground area to practice cycle control skills such as turning and slow cycling, tips on how to cycle safely.
Stage 2 Cycle Confidence Training and Led Ride - Two-Hour session.
- One-hour session in an empty car park/hard surface playground area to practice cycle control skills such as turning and slow cycling, tips on how to cycle safely, followed by cycle practice in a quiet street area.
- One-hour session preparing and doing on-road short ride (the route will be explained before leaving).
All stages were completed by March 1st 2024. When all stages were complete each participant was awarded with a £100 voucher for a local independent cycle shop of their choice. Alternatively, if they had borrowed a refurbished bike for the sessions, instead of having the £100 voucher the participant could keep the bike. There were also be lots of other cycling goodies for each participant along the two stage journey to help make their cycle trips safer, easier and more comfortable.