It’s a sunny day at Lockleaze Adventure Playground (or, the ‘Vench’), and you can hear the laughter and excited screams of children playing. A game of ‘lasso’ is underway: children are zipping around on bikes, trying to avoid being ‘lassoed’ by inflated inner tubes thrown, Frisbee-style, by Life Cycle volunteers Dan and Steve.
Life Cycle is absolutely thrilled to announce that we have been awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary service. This is the highest award given to groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work done by volunteers in their communities. The awards were created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and winners are announced each year on 2 June – the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.
Poppy Brett, the Chief Executive said,
People with mental ill health can find themselves juggling a complex variety of clinical interventions, or, increasingly, without any support at all. However, there is an important - but often forgotten - middle ground: non-clinical activities that can effectively complement, or even replace, medical treatment.
Community support is a vital piece of the puzzle
A healthy workforce is more productive, takes less sick leave, and is less stressed, but it can be hard for busy people to squeeze exercise into their daily routine.
Life Cycle's top-tip is to encourage staff to cycle to and from work, allowing them to get their daily exercise whilst they commute.
Sounds easy. But we know lots of people are scared to cycle. That’s why Life Cycle teaches people skills and helps them gain the confidence they need to commute by bike.
Steve grew up fully sighted, but in his 30s he experienced a gradual deterioration in his vision that eventually left him completely blind. In his 40s, Steve found himself spending a lot of time alone in his flat, feeling lonely, isolated and unhappy.
Then, one day, he heard about a scheme run by Life Cycle UK called “Two’s Company” that enlisted the help of sighted volunteers to allow the blind and visually-impaired to go out cycling on the back of tandems.
How do over-55s like to have fun? Coach trips? Crochet? Crosswords? It’s a common misconception that life has to slow down as you mature in years.
Research shows that people who stay physically active in older age stay healthy and independent for longer. Not only this, older people who maintain any level of exercise are also less likely to feel isolated and lonely.
We are thrilled to announce that Life Cycle UK has won a national award for Bike Back - our bicycle refurbishment scheme that supports prisoners to gain skills and qualifications by refurbishing donated bicycles.
Lukas (not his real name) found himself in prison for the first time aged 61. He is from Lithuania and has no family in the country, so does not receive visits from his two daughters.
Coming to prison for the first time can be a massive shock. Although he could become animated when spoken to, when we first met it was clear that Lukas was in very low spirits:
Life Cycle UK delivers a Safe Urban Driving Course for HGV drivers, which includes practical 'on-road' cycle training to give drivers a 'real life' experience of a cyclist’s perspective.
The objectives of the course are:
How are you connected to Life Cycle?
I manage Bike Back Bristol and Derby.
What's your earliest cycling memory?
Failing my cycling proficiency!!
What was your first bike?
A nasty small wheeled purple thing but my friend had a beautiful shiny blue shopper that I adored and desperately wanted.
What would your dream bike be?
I've already got my dream bike.
What are your favourite cycling routes in Bristol/UK?
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