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The industry-funded Go-Ride youth cycling programme delivered by British Cycling has had its best ever winter. According to British Cycling’s marketing officer Sarah Lewis this reflects the "trend of more young people being active in cycling than ever before."
Go-Ride Clubs hosted 188 racing events, with over 4,700 opportunities for kids to race. This equates to a 24 percent increase in the number of Go-Ride racing opportunities over the last 12 months, with the number of events available having risen by almost a third.
Go-Ride is co-sponsored by the Bicycle Association of Great Britain via its Bike Hub levy fund. The partnership – originally signed at the beginning of 2014 – continues in its present form until December 2016.
In the first two years of the partnership, Go-Ride created over a million opportunities for children to access cycling in schools and communities; supported a network of over 6,000 volunteers at 300 Go-Ride Clubs; and established five disability hubs, which provide youngsters with a disability with a chance to get into cycling.
Lewis said: "Darker nights and colder weather can be a challenge for both riders and volunteers, which usually results in fewer sessions being offered, and fewer young people on bikes. However, clubs across the country have been changing this, and the number of entry-level races on the calendar during the winter months has grown year-on-year."
