Our Two’s Company project opens up a whole new world for people who are disabled or visually impaired by giving them the opportunity to get out into the countryside and participate in a healthy, fun and life enhancing activity – tandem cycling.

Some of our participants are visually impaired and have been blind from birth, whilst others have lost their sight as a result of an accident or deteriorating eye condition. Others are affected by a range of disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy or Down’s Syndrome. None are able to ride a bike independently and many feel isolated and lonely because of their conditions.

We give participants much needed opportunities to take exercise, feel the wind on their face and enjoy the sounds and smells of the countryside. A typical Two’s Company ride has up to eight tandems, each with a sighted person at the front and a visually impaired/disabled co-rider behind.

Participants find the rides both exhilarating and relaxing, as well as an invaluable opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.

“Two's Company’s done a great job in opening up cycling to so many more people, as well as showing the larger cycling community that there's a multitude of ways to cycle. And I'm really grateful to you for welcoming me and my children and triggering the cycling bug.” - Paul Barnett

How you can support Two’s Company

Our volunteer front riders regularly donate their time and enthusiasm to this fantastic project and are instrumental to its success. All rides are free of charge; however we have crucial running costs which we must meet each year to keep the wheels rolling:

• £5 could buy new brake pads for one of our tandems
• £50 could pay for a winter overhaul of a tandem after a hard year of use
• £1000 could buy a whole new tandem and allow us to take even more visually impaired and disabled people out riding
• £20,000 could pay for a full time project co-ordinator and let us double the number of rides each year

http://www.justgiving.com/twoscompanyappeal

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If you know someone who could benefit from tandem rides and want more information, please email: post@lifecycleuk.org.uk

Bike Back is a bicycle refurbishment project run by Life Cycle UK in partnership with HMP Bristol. The project provides prisoners with a fantastic opportunity to gain some practical skills, and transferrable work experience which helps them to integrate back into society.

“I didn’t know anything about bikes when I started. I didn’t even know how to fix a puncture. But I have picked things up really quickly and I really enjoy it. I am learning all the time. I feel much more positive now; the opportunity has made me realise that with time and coaching I am able to learn new things” - Inmate at HMP Bristol

We take donated bicycles in need of repair to our workshop in the prison where we teach prisoners mechanical skills so that they can fully refurbish the bikes. We then sell the bikes to the public at regular events in Bristol city centre.  Over the past year our HMP workshop has refurbished 300 bikes. The project:

• Provides interesting, meaningful and skilled employment to 100 prisoners each year
• Reduces waste going to landfill and brings hundreds of old bikes back to life
• Provides affordable refurbished bikes to hundreds of people on low incomes

How you can support BikeBack

If you live near Bristol then please donate your old or unwanted bike to us so we can get it back onto the road. Not nearby? For just a few pounds you can help to pay for some of the many parts needed in order to fix the bikes and meet other vital project costs:

• £5 could buy new brake pads for a refurbished bike
• £12 could buy a new chain and gear cables
• £80 could pay to transport a batch of donated bicycles to the prison
• £235 could buy an additional work stand and tool set for the prison workshop

http://www.justgiving.com/bikebackappeal

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Want to find out more or get involved? Email: post@lifecycleuk.org.uk

There’s nothing like a bike ride through the woods, or along the banks of river to lift your spirits.

Our Bike Minded project brings the benefits of cycling to people who are experiencing emotional or mental health problems.

Through regular supported group rides, we help people get out into nature on a bike, experience the joys and freedoms that it offers, build their confidence and esteem and improve their mental wellbeing.

We also provide heavily subsidised refurbished bikes, one:one cycle training and basic bike maintenance training to give people the confidence to start cycling and keep cycling independently.

“Taking part in Bike Minded has really been like a journey back into society. I had felt so excluded from it before. Having a bike has enabled me to be more social and break my isolation. I feel so proud when I am out on my bike now.” - S. (participant)

“I have benefited so much from this service. I feel that there will be many other people in my situation and they too would benefit from this service. I really have a lot to thank Bike Minded for” - Vanessa, participant

Funding for Bike Minded ends in just 8 months. Please help us continue this crucial work:

• £6 could pay for new inner tubes for a clients bikes
• £25 could pay for a cycling lesson to give an individual suffering from anxiety and panic attacks the confidence to ride on the roads
• £100 could pay for a short group ride for people recovering from mental health issues
• £10,000 could pay for a part time project co-ordinator to continue our work

http://www.justgiving.com/bikemindedappeal

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If you know someone who could benefit from Bike Minded please email to find out more - post@lifecycleuk.org.uk

Life Cycle’s Silver Cyclist project helps older people get active and stay active through cycling. The project is really simple:

Life Cycle organises a programme of rides, using traffic free and low trafficked routes, and we advertise the rides in local communities. Older people meet a friendly ride leader at the allotted time and place - we ride!

Silver Cyclist rides are based in local communities and give older people a chance to get out, take exercise and discover their local area by bike. But the rides aren’t just about cycling. They are about socialising and having fun too.

The rides are lead by an experience instructor who helps people overcome their concerns about cycling, gives guidance on safety and ensures all the bikes are in tip top condition. The rides follow a gentle and relaxed pace and enable people who may feel nervous about cycling to participate with confidence.

“Although I can ride a bike, I’d never have gone on the road on my own. It gave me confidence. It was smashing, its given me a new outlook now I’m retired.” – Ken, participant

How you can support Silver Cyclists

We know there are 100’s more older people who would love to get involved in a Silver Cyclist rides but we need your help to expand the project

• £10 could hire a bike to lend to an older person without their own
• £52.50 could pay for an extra group ride during 2012
• £500 could pay for the recruitment and training of 10 new ride leaders
• £12,000 could pay for a part time project co-ordinator for one year

http://www.justgiving.com/silvercyclists

Click the logo to donate to this project

If you want to take part in Silver Cyclists or set up a group in your community please contact us: post@lifecycleuk.org.uk

Life Cycle’s youth project aims to engage young people in socially deprived areas who are susceptible to being drawn into crime and anti social behaviour. We run:

Free bicycle mechanic workshops where professional mechanics teach young people how to repair and rebuild bikes, providing a constructive outlet for their energy in a practical-based setting. Successfully fixing a bike gives young people a strong sense of achievement and confidence in their own abilities, an outcome which few have ever experienced in the classroom.

Guided urban rides, which encourage young people to widen their horizons by taking participants beyond their local neighbourhoods to explore new areas of the city which they might not otherwise visit.

Mountain bike rides, which offer young people what can be a rare opportunity to get out into the countryside.

“This is the best day of my life!”

commented one 11 year old participant who prior to coming riding with us had never travelled more than a few miles beyond his local neighbourhood.

How you can support Bike Generation

We have recently started running Bicycle Polo sessions at several inner city areas. The sessions offer young people a safe environment to come and have fun, take exercise and make new friends. The pilot sessions have been an enormous success and we desperately want to expand the project but we need your help:

• £10 could pay for a mallet and safety equipment for one more participant
• £25 could pay for a 1-hour Bike Polo session for 10 children from deprived areas
• £50 could pay for a refurbished bike to lend out to those who’d love to get involved but don’t have their own bike
• £1000 could pay for a years worth of Bike Polo

http://www.justgiving.com/bikegeneration

Click the logo to donate to this project

If you would like to take part or set up a group in your area please contact us: post@lifecycleuk.org.uk

At Life Cycle we really believe that cycling can transform lives. You don’t need us to tell you that cycling is a...

• Convenient
• Healthy
• Low Stress
• Low cost
• Low carbon
• Sociable
• Community-friendly

...way to travel. Combine all these benefits and you have a fantastic way to get around, run errands and experience life.

At Life Cycle we want to help as many people as possible experience these benefits and realise that riding a bike is all its cracked up to be. As well as our inclusive cycling work, we help people of all ages and backgrounds to make cycling part of their everyday lives through practical advice, training and support. We provide:

Cycle training

From school kids to pensioners, from complete beginners to National Standard Instructors, Life Cycle has provided cycle training to over 11,000 people.

Bike Maintenance Courses

Not feeling confident about fixing a puncture is enough to put many people off cycling, but we’re here to help. We started running courses a few years ago and have since trained over 500 people in basic bike maintenance. Our mechanics are friendly and don’t use jargon – they’ll teach you everything you need to know to feel confident and safe whilst out and about on a bike.

Support for Businesses

We offer FREE cycle parking stands to small businesses & community groups as well as cycle audits and bicycle maintenance sessions in the workplace to help employers become more cycle friendly.

For more information about any of our services, or to make a booking enquiry just email us: post@lifecycleuk.org.uk