Winner: Exceptional Individual (Community Programme) 2019 - Susan Nicholson of Social Track

North Lanarkshire Club 365 delivers free meals and sports sessions to children during the school holidays. Social Track, a community enterprise affiliated to Cycling UK, delivers the sessions at the Wishawhill Wood Pumptrack. Susan works tirelessly to make these sessions a possibility, taking care of the administrative side of the project and helping many children and families to engage with other professional support services, which have allowed them to make positive changes in their own lives.

Without Susan, The Club 365 and Social Track would not be running and making such a positive impact for all those kids riding there

Since its beginnings in April 2018, Social Track has reached hundreds of children. The founding mission of the enterprise is that cycling should be fun and accessible to all. It’s as simple as grab a helmet, borrow a bike and have a go. The aim is to remove as many barriers from participation as practicably possible and therefore maximise the long term health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals.

When the enterprise became involved in the North Lanarkshire Club 365, it quickly became abundantly clear that there was a skills gap in the administration and structure of the newly formed project. Despite still struggling to walk to the track from the road due to recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis, Susan volunteered to help get the administration side of the enterprise working. Susan now makes time for almost all of the 365 sessions at the Wishaw pump track.

With Social Track’s first birthday approaching, Susan finally managed to get on a bike herself and is now cycling short distances daily. She has become a strong advocate for the health benefits of being active outdoors and wants to use Social Track’s profile to promote cycling as part of the green health agenda. 

Susan is a finalist in the Exceptional Individual in a Community Project category of Cycling UK's Volunteer Awards 2019.