Glasgow Bike Club trains even more young people

Bike Club Glasgow update time. I’m pleased to report that we finished 2014 on a high. We have had a really busy and exciting couple of months since the last blog in Glasgow and beyond.

Four of our peer mentors - Abdi, Michael, Jon and Jack - successfully completed their Cycle Trainer Assistant training under the expert tutelage of John Nicholson from Youth Scotland. This took place at The Glasgow Bike Station over four sessions, which was great. I also took part in this training alongside the peer mentors.

In November, three different peer mentors  - Thomas, Farhan and Mathew - successfully completed their ride leader training. This would not have been possible without support from Jake Lovatt and Robbie Hawthorne from Glasgow Life. Robbie was our tutor for what turned out to be a very wet and windy day's training at Glasgow Green Football Centre. We were also very fortunate to get a loan of bikes from Norman at Free Wheel North.

The following week I was able to attend Cycling Scotland’s four-day Cycle Trainer course held at Camelon Education centre in Falkirk alongside Carrie Blair (fellow Bike Club Development Officer). This was a great step-up for me after completing my Cycle Trainer Assistant in early November. The four days were a mix of planning and discussion indoors, session delivery and rides outside. What felt like the coldest days of the year for me but well worth it with a final ride to the Falkirk Wheel. This was a great opportunity to develop my teaching and planning skills in relation to cycling and to meet some lovely people who can hopefully support Bike Club in the future and will definitely be driving cycling forward in Falkirk.

In December, I was invited to meet a group of boys in Castlemilk who are keen to set up their own mountain bike club in partnership with Glasgow Life, Bike Club and Ardenglen Housing Association. We met for a bit of a chat and then went out to explore the trails at Cathkin Braes, where they put me through my paces. I’m very excited to be involved with them and look forward to their club really taking off in the New Year. So inspiring seeing young people taking control of their lives like this and making a positive impact on the local community.

What better way to end the year than a visit to National Office in Guildford. Carrie Blair, Suzanne Forup and myself (we missed you Polly Jarman) made the journey south for the first time as a team to meet our CTC colleagues. We spent a day meeting the office team and learning more about everyone’s roles and how the whole CTC machine functions.

On day 2 we met in the morning for an extremely competitive Christmas quiz followed by a festive lunch in town and drinks. This was a great couple of days and will really help going forward as there were some real bonds made.

Bryan Jardine is a Bike Club Development Officer in Glasgow.