Sustrans information on disabled cycling

Cycling for Everyone

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 Special needs cycles
 

Who can enjoy cycling? Just about everybody, and a disability need not stop you cycling. This website is mostly about long distance cycling yet all routes have long stretches of safe, off-road sections.

Organisations like the Cycling Project are providing cycling opportunities for everyone to enjoy. Part of their work is a project called Wheels for All which encourages disabled people of all ages to have a go at cycling by showing the range of cycles available and by offering taster courses in various Wheels for All centres in the Midlands and Northern England. If anyone is unable to manage a two-wheeled bike, for whatever reason, the Cycling Project has a variety of equipment in different sizes to try.

• Disabled children and adults can join in with their family and friends.
• The elderly can rediscover the pleasure of cycles.
• Those with learning difficulties can enjoy mastering a new skill.
• Those who are temporarily disabled need not be inactive.
• All will enjoy the experience and gain the health benefits of active exercise.

Cycles can be used both indoors and out - enjoy the countryside on a safe off-road trail or practice your skills in a sports hall. The Cycling Project works with manufacturers to research, adapt and design new equipment. New types of cycles to meet disabled cyclists' needs are regularly introduced.

So get out there. No excuses. Cycle.

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www.velovision.co.uk

Bicycles with Stabilisers:  
A boost to confidence, whatever your age. 

Tricycles: 
All the fun of cycling on three wheels, with the option of a supported or recumbent seat.

Handcycles: 
More cycling fun. The rider powers the front wheel by hand - great for a wide range of abilities.

Quadcycles and Go Karts: 
Cycling fun on four wheels.

Bicycles Made for Two: 
Fun with a friend on the Wheeleasy side by side handcycle, or regular Side by Side cycle, or a Harmony Tandem with handcycle or wheelchair at the front and bicycle at the back, or perhaps the Kettwiesel recumbent tandem.

To try the bikes contact one of the centres shown on the Cycling Project website or call the Wheels for All Hotline (Tel. 0161 7459944). All centres provide a helmet if necessary. The cycles are very easy to use and the staff at the bases give full instruction in using them. They are easy to master and very quickly offer the cyclist freedom to go off exploring at their own pace and in their own time.

You can try one of the taster sessions that take place in different areas. Private trial sessions for both individuals and groups can also be organised by contacting the Wheels for All Hotline (see above) or your nearest centre. The Wheels for All section of the Cycling Projects' website has a  'News' section outlining forthcoming events and has reports of those that have taken place.

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There are currently facilities in the following areas and much development is being made at new centres.

  • South Cheshire
  • Blackpool, Lancashire
  • Burnley, Lancashire
  • Cowm Reservoir, Lancs
  • Broughton in Furness, Cumbria
  • Kielder, Northumberland
  • Shipley Country Park,
  • Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire Border
  • Liverpool, Merseyside
  • Peak District National Park
  • Wyreside, north of Blackpool Salford,
  • Greater Manchester
  • Preston, Lancashire
  • West and South Yorkshire
  • North Shields, Tyneside

Contact the centres to check availability of cycles. There is no hire fee, although a donation towards the upkeep of the cycles and the purchasing of new equipment is appreciated. Centres have bicycles that can be used by family and friends too, but again, contact the 'Wheels for All' team details.

 

Other contacts:

  
There are other organisations, including specialist bicycle retailers and voluntary bodies and individuals, who can offer further information, guidance and advice. Click here for some other useful links and telephone numbers.

Although the list is by no means definitive, and cost can obviously be a factor, it gives an insight into the specialist bicycles and opportunities available for cyclists with special needs.

Examples of a few routes:

24 miles off-road Blackpool - Fleetwood

Camel Trail - Bodmin - Padstow in South-west England

Mawddach Trail, Gwynedd, Wales