A ‘wheely’ good reason to get back on your bike.
It was confirmed this week that Cycling Ireland has secured Government funding for its community bike rides programme for 2023. It was initially launched in 2019 and has over 5,000 people registered in taking part.
It involves cyclists meeting in their communities to go for group rides. The rides are led by 120 ‘ride leaders’ in 29 counties, and they hoping are to extend the scheme to County Westmeath this year.
HOW IT WORKS:
The cyclists, under the guidance of a ride leader, take on “social leisure rides”, 11,500 of which were completed last year with over 36,000 rides now completed since the scheme’s inception almost four years ago. The community bike rides are open to adults of all ages.
The programme will be sponsored this year by the Department of Transport and is now part of the department’s ‘Active Travel’ policy – a range of programmes aimed at promoting the use of non-motorised modes of transport.
It’s hoped that a weekly ‘Community Bike Ride’ will be available in every county in Ireland, including Westmeath, by the end of this year.
MORE INFORMATION
Ride Leader courses are being developed by Cycling Ireland and you can find more information about the scheme here:
