On Saturday 20 July 2024 five local groups came together to deliver an amazing day of cycling within the grounds of the Douglas Ewart High School in Newton Stewart. Sustrans, Wigtownshire Stuff, Galloway Hillbillies Bike Club, Kirkcowan Cycles and Newton Stewart Initiative all recognise the physical, social, and economic benefits that can be delivered to our communities through cycling and came up with the idea of hosting a Family Fun Day to encourage people of all ages and abilities to give cycling a try.
There was a variety of activities and bikes for everybody to try, with some people choosing to bring along their own bikes.
Wigtownshire Stuff brought their accessible bikes over from their base in Stranraer. Many enjoyed trying out the handcycle and reported that it was a real workout!
A family who visited the event enjoyed using the wheelchair platform bike. They enjoyed the freedom of all being able to cycle together as a family, as mum and son were on the wheelchair platform bike and the other children cycled alongside.
Wigtownshire Stuff’s side by side tricycle was very popular with many participants taking it in turn to ride around the loop. Participants of all ages enjoyed this bike.
“We had 45 minutes of fun cycling in the rain! Just think of the hours of fun we would have had if it was dry!”
Sustrans IBike Communities works with adults and families to improve cycling confidence, especially to help replace car journeys with Active Travel, meaning walking cycling and wheeling. Annick offers support for beginners, those that have never learned to ride a bike and adults who haven’t ridden for a long time. Sessions are tailored to the participants and include individual or group lessons, group rides, ebike tuition and route finding. Annick has a variety of bikes, e-bikes and e-trikes to use during training, so no equipment is needed to take part. Annick Laroque, Senior Development Officer, “It was a great event to be involved in and I am hoping to work with more people in Newton Stewart to help with everyday journeys. I also take on health referrals as cycling can be beneficial for those with health issues”.
Galloway Hillbillies bike clubs qualified coaches put on a small course for everybody to try with around 35 kids coming to try their skills out over the ramps and under the limbo bar. As the day went on the limbo bar got lower and lower. Some kids were provided with one-to-one coaching over some of the obstacles and on the basic principles of cycling. Club Chairperson Gavin McHallum said “it was great to see the kids having so much fun and not being bothered about the weather. Galloway has the potential to be an amazing cycling destination and deliver something great for our area and communities if we continue to work together on projects like this”
Hamish from local bike shop, Kirkcowan Cycles, was on hand throughout the day to offer tips and advice around bike maintenance. Thank you to Newton Stewart Co-Op for providing free water and food for the event.
Newton Stewart Initiative, a community-based charity in Newton Stewart, worked in partnership with these groups to help organise the day and support behind the scenes. “Our Local Place Plan helped drive the conversations to happen between NSI, Wigtownshire Stuff, SUSTrans, the Galloway Hillbillies and Kirkcowan Cycles, as many local residents already see Newton Stewart as a cycling town, and we all want to help encourage local residents to get on their bikes.”
