If you’ve ever worried about your cycling skills, Wheels for Wellbeing sessions might just be the thing to encourage you to think otherwise. They organise cycling sesions for everyone: people of all ages and impairments are welcome to come along.
What is a cycling session? This can mean anything, from training how to ride a bike if you’re a complete beginner, through going cycling with instructors as well as learning simple maintenance skills.
Recently, Wheels for Wellbeing have started putting on cycling sessions that can accommodate refugees and asylum seekers as well. Matt, the session manager for Ladywell, told us about a Syrian refugee family that came to one of the kids’ sessions last year. This prompted the group to think about how they could make their sessions accessible to refugees as well: cycling can be a fun activity for a refugee after the trauma of having to leave their country and seek asylum, and also because cycling is a cheap way to travel.
Wheels for Wellbeing have trained instructors and have a wide variety of bikes to try. Because it is a disability cycling charity, they are used to supporting people with complex needs. Refugees can have hidden disabilities and needs, such as PTSD, trauma, and other conditions from experiencing shelling, and in some cases, being gassed.
If you’d like to volunteer with Wheels for Wellbeing at Ladywell’s sessions on Wednesdays and at the refugee sessions, please contact Ola at info@wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk.
The next Wheels for Wellbeing Refugee session in Ladywell takes place on Tuesday 28 May at the Ladywell Day Centre.