Bike checks

Story: Jenny Tibbles

Building on young people’s enthusiasm for Bike Check sessions last summer, Ellesmere Youth Project and Pedal Ready ran a bike maintenance course, ending with a bike ride from Carwood to Rotherham. The four Easter-holiday sessions started with a general bike check at Pitsmoor Adventure Playground, where Dave and Fred from Pedal Ready helped with some minor bike adjustments.

During the bike maintenance sessions, young people worked together to fix their own and each other’s bikes, learning how to check bikes for safety, fit new brake pads and cables and fix punctures. They also took part in bike-riding skills games and had much fun trying to win a cycle ‘slow race’.

All the young people who took part enjoyed themselves, learned skills in bike maintenance and went home with improved brakes and fixed handlebars! Many asked if this was something they could do every week.

We finished with a bike ride from the Cornerstone Building at the top of Carwood Road, joining the official cycle route that took us past Meadowhall and along the River Don to Rotherham. Thankfully it was a nice sunny evening and we all made it without getting wet! Well done to all the young people who took part, particularly the ones who managed to cycle back up Carwood Road without stopping!