Access Sport are proud to introduce the Lockdown Bike Club - a community club for socially distant times. 

The Lockdown Bike Club is a new project that’s helping community bike clubs navigate the coronavirus crisis and continue their support for the young people and families who depend on them. The new project is being developed in collaboration with members of the Making Trax Club Network.

 

Why does this matter?

An awful lot of people entered the crisis in a very fragile state and the situation is almost impossible for lots of vulnerable and disadvantaged people. The lockdown is likely to last for months, which is long enough to have a significant social and emotional impact on young people that hinders their chances of fulfilling their potential. Many of the people in our extended network depended on their local bike clubs for physical activity, social connection, structure and routine. The lockdown has taken all this away, but we believe these same community clubs can play an important role in reducing the social impact of the Coronavirus crisis. Especially if we work together!

 

Most of the bike clubs in the Making Trax network serve diverse populations and include disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society. As a sport inclusion charity we believe we must do everything we can to support these clubs through the current crisis and enable each one to carry on making a meaningful impact on people’s lives – especially those on the margins of society.

We’re currently working with clubs in our network to reinvent the community bike club for a socially distant era. This collaborative project is called the Lockdown Bike Club.

 

Building solidarity to deliver social impact

By establishing the Lockdown Bike Club we aim to understand the most important challenges faced by members of our network, create space for developing and testing radical new ideas, pull together content, practical tools, resources and empowering others to do more to serve their communities too. By building a central hub for clubs during the lockdown we want to build even greater solidarity with key partners across the sector, amplify the great things being done by others, avoid unnecessary duplications and act as a catalyst for hundreds of other clubs to adapt what they’re doing to meet the complex challenges of today.

We can’t change things on our own so please get in touch with Andy James if you’d like to get involved with the Lockdown Bike Club, or you can join the discussion, ask questions and share ideas on our Facebook Group. 

Andy James, the Making Trax National Network Manager said: 

Since clubs locked up their bikes for the last time in March, the amount of energy, ambition and content creation from the cycling community has been remarkable. By setting up the Lockdown Bike Club, we want to harness all this and ensure we all work together to make the most meaningful difference we can.

What’s already happening?

As things have been unfolding so quickly over the last month, we’ve been rapidly trying to figure out what our role needs to be during these uncertain times. Here’s some of the new work being delivered by the Lockdown Bike Club…

Loaning Bikes to NHS staff at Hospitals in London

As the Coronavirus continues to affect everyday life, NHS staff and key workers are forging ahead in the battle to restore normality to the nation. To support those working hard to tackle this pandemic, Access Sport staff, alongside Bikeworks instructors, are working together to make bikes accessible to female frontline NHS Staff through Access Sport’s Women on Wheels project. 

Publishing Regular Newsletters & Activity Schedules

It is hard to keep track of all the new online content and resources that are out there at the moment. Therefore, Access Sport have pulled together some highlights to help you make sense of it all, which include opportunities for different ages and abilities, as well as on-bike and off-bike options. Follow the links below to get stuck into the Lockdown Bike Club's Cycling Activities!

The Lockdown Bike Collective 

Members of the Making Trax Club Network got together on Zoom to discuss challenges and swap ideas. The group are focused on redesigning bike club life for socially distant times, and working out how to include the most isolated and vulnerable members of their communities. Following last week's call, we've started to pull together a comprehensive set of tools, resources and video content to support clubs during lockdown. 

Feedback from the group has been positive: 'That was great! Hearing from everyone else was very useful so I would definitely see the value of joining future calls."

Reinventing BMXercise for socially distant times 

The team are using video-conferencing tools to bring BMXercise coaches together. The group are helping us understand the challenges faced by BMXercisers at the moment, and what they're missing most about their sessions. The group are working together to help the wider BMXercise community navigate the coronavirus crisis and support more vulnerable members of the community. 

Get in touch with [email protected] to find our how to get involved. 

Lockdown Bike Loans 

Club leaders have expressed some concerns for members who don't have their own bikes at home or have access to bikes. We're working with BMX clubs to lend bikes to young people who don't have their own bike at home or have much access to outdoor space. Taking the lead from COG Walthamstow, we're also working with Poplar and Tottenham BMX clubs to loan bikes to less privileged members of their communities and inspire more clubs to set up similar schemes. 

What’s in the pipeline for Lockdown Bikes?

Building a curated directory of content, tools and resources

We're working with the club network to produce a curated directory of videos, tools and resources for bike clubs in lockdown and sharing this in a simple, searchable format. This will help clubs make sense of all the great content that's already out there. 

Piloting online sessions and sharing what we learn

We'll be delivering a series of sessions that reconfigure the ingredients from pre-lockdown delivery. This will include BMXercise, BMX club sessions and Wingz for riders with additional needs. Keep checking this page for the latest calendar of events and activities.  

The Lockdown Bikes Trivia Night 

The team will be hosting a quiz night to reintroduce some healthy competition between clubs.

New videos, tools and resources

As well as sharing the best of existing content we’re producing new videos, tools and resources that plug important gaps and make the lockdown offer more inclusive.

Here is our first Online BMX Coaching Video from one of our social impact coaches, Azlee.

Call to action

To find out more about the Lockdown Bike Club get in touch with [email protected], Join the discussion, ask questions and share ideas on our Facebook Group.