Bike Club will be offering support to groups of young people with training, equipment and facilities that help them use cycling as a way to learn to skills and achieve rewarding experiences.
Initial funding for the development of Bike Club has come from Cycling England, an organisation that, supported by the Department for Transport, encourages cycling through a range of initiatives.
Transport Minister Sadiq Khan will be at Bike Club's London launch, where he will be addressing attendees. Ahead of the event he said;
"I
want to put cycling at the very heart of transport planning for the
21st century. That's why the Government has more than doubled the
budget for Cycling England; why we've invested £10 million in our
Sustainable Travel Towns programme; why we've launched a major £14
million package to transform facilities for cyclists at rail stations;
and over 240 major employers have already pledged to implement our new
'Cycle to Work Guarantee'.
"I
believe that Bike Club can play a leading role in shaping the travel
habits of our children in the future - showing how cycling can not only
boost the health of youngsters, cut car usage, and reduce travel costs
- but also improve their outlook and quality of life."
At Bike Club’s Manchester
launch, Mike Farrar, the Chief Executive of NHS North West, will be
present, speaking to mark the launch of this significant national
project. Bike Club has been set up by a consortium of three leading charities: CTC is the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation; UK Youth is the UK’s
largest non-uniformed youth organisation and ContinYou provides
expertise in the area of extended services, providing learning
opportunities beyond the school curriculum.
Sarah
Troke, Bike Club’s national manager, said:
“We are very excited about
the opportunities we have been given to make a real difference in young
people’s lives. Cycling offers an ideal way for children to learn about
a range of issues, like the importance of physical activity, the
discovery of their outdoor environment and the rewards of planning
activities with their peers.”
Further
support for Bike Club is being provided by supermarket chain Asda,
whose Pedal Power campaign has raised funds that will enable Bike Club
to extend its important work with greater numbers of young people,
including projects in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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