Giving Black Friday: The Bikeability Trust
The Bikeability Trust is a fantastic charity that provides 420,000 children in England with Bikeability cycle training each year. Since it was established in 2007, Bikeability has taught over 3.6 million children in this country how to ride a bike, from how to ride confidently on roads to navigating complex junctions; giving them all the tools they need to use cycling for transport or leisure for the rest of their lives.
We all know that the benefits of cycling are huge: for our mental and physical health, and as a green mode of transport in a world facing climate catastrophe. It is The Bikeability Trust’s goal to give cycle training to every child in the country by 2025. A mammoth - but truly brilliant - goal. We are thrilled to support The Bikeability Trust, as this year’s Giving Black Friday charity, with 5% of our cycling sales revenue from the weekend.
Who does The Bikeability Trust help?
Who doesn’t The Bikeability Trust help! Improving access to cycling and to bicycles benefits everyone. It keeps people happier and healthier and looks after the planet, too.
Pure joy in the saddle!
By providing cycle training at a young age, The Bikeability Trust can overcome barriers to participation to ensure that the cyclists of the future will be as diverse as our population is. Early training also normalises cycling as a form of transport which is likely to have a profound impact on how those children use the road as they get older.
As well as providing cycle training, The Bikeability Trust provides bicycles to schools for children to learn on. It also works with other partners such as The Bike Club and Beryl to provide free or subsidised access to bicycles to children immediately after the completion of their course.
The Bikeability Trust is also currently conducting a Cycle Savvy Driving study with the Driving Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) with the aim of ultimately improving driver awareness of cyclists. Another fantastic initiative that has the potential to benefit all road users!
What will our money go towards?
Getting confident on two wheels is a skill for life
The Bikeability Trust receives most of its funding from the UK government’s Department for Transport, but this isn’t enough for it to cover all of its activities.
Our donations will go towards expanding access to cycle training and to The Bikeability Trust’s Widening Participation Fund, which ensures that the government’s aim of providing cycle training to every child in England truly means every child. The Widening Participation Fund provides specially adapted bikes to children with special needs, or funding for cycling equipment to those who cannot afford it.
As an example:
£10 could provide a Level 1 Bikeability cycle training course for one child
£45 could provide a Level 2 Bikeability course for one child, allowing them to cycle confidently on the road
£100 could provide tailored cycle training for a whole family, giving them the tools to make cycling part of their everyday routine
