Stories from those who cycle with us

This is the fourth article in our new series which explores every aspect of our London-based cycle sessions and led rides. Since our cycle operations started in 2007, our impactful programmes have helped thousands of Disabled people to try cycling in a safe and supportive environment. This has led to participants experiencing a range of health, wellbeing, and social benefits. This series is designed to bring our collective skills, knowledge, and experience together to create better opportunities for all who want to try #InclusiveCycling.

Part One of the series, introducing our Led Rides, can be found here.

Part Two, revealing some of our long-standing Instructor Insights, can be found here.

Part Three, where we read about Em and Ben’s cycling experiences, is here.

Charles Critchell is an Active Travel professional and a non-disabled cyclist. For this series, Charles worked closely with Wheels for Wellbeing to learn more about the charity’s cycle sessions and led rides with the aim of sharing the experiences of its staff, volunteers, and cyclists.

I initially struggle to keep up with Lucie as we round the top bend of the inner track at Herne Hill Velodrome. We’re both riding low-slung recumbent trikes and we chat candidly as we clock up the laps: “I met Brooke on my first session back and he challenged me to do 30 laps of the track, which I did”. Brooke, who I met at a Led Ride several days later confirms the story: “Lucie and I used to challenge each other to laps of the velodrome, and now we carry it on when we visit the park”. Both Lucie and Brooke are Led Ride regulars and began cycling with Wheels for Wellbeing in the Autumn of 2020. In the intervening three years, both have undertaken many challenging rides with the charity and, judging by their good-natured competitiveness, this is something which looks set to continue.

As we cycle, Lucie tells me that she has a passion for the outdoors and has always been very active, something she attributes to her Swiss heritage: “I was skiing and riding cycles from an early age, I’ve always enjoyed the hit of nature”. Following a stroke in 2006, Lucie experienced reduced mobility and had to find ways to “do things you love in different ways”. One of these was cycling, and she first heard about Wheels for Wellbeing in 2013 through the Stroke Association. Despite attending a session at Herne Hill shortly after, she left deflated because she found it difficult to ride the upright trike she had been paired with: “I just couldn’t do it, I needed core strength and found it really difficult”.

Fast forward a decade, and Lucie has since logged hundreds of miles on the two recumbents we’re currently on. She describes COVID as being the catalyst which got her back cycling again: “I wanted to be outdoors, the weather was good, and it was socially distanced… I was immediately paired with the Hase Kettwiesel and I was off”. Though Lucie makes it sound simple, it is soon clear that she possesses plenty of perseverance. She tells me that she learnt how to ski again with the aid of a guide, and with the help of her physiotherapist was encouraged to take up Nordic Walking in 2019. Though she draws strength from the professionals in her life, she jokes that her son – a competitive athlete – also spurs her on, including the time he asked her “why she was at the back” on a group walk. 

Upon restarting cycling sessions with Wheels for Wellbeing in 2020, Emma (the then Herne Hill and Led Ride cycling instructor) was soon challenging her to do more: “She said she would train me to do RideLondon; I didn’t know what that meant but I agreed to give it a go”. Soon Lucie was not only participating in Led Rides but recording increasingly longer distances with Emma as they rode 10, 20, then 30 miles, travelling to places from the velodrome including Primrose Hill, the Thames Barrier, and the O2. In March 2022, Lucie joined the International Women’s Day ride before going on to complete RideLondon in May. She relays that it was tough but that she and Emma had a lot of fun training for it.

Lucie has been grateful for the opportunities afforded by Wheels for Wellbeing and tells me that she considers it important to be able to give back: “I like to help where I can, and it is a story to tell”. As a result, Lucie has volunteered for several press engagements, including a slot on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour during which she spoke about how cycling has helped her regain her independence: “I find it’s totally liberating, I feel totally independent being able to cycle.” Though Lucie has also appeared in a short film focusing on the charity’s work, she relays that she “got a real buzz” out of raising funds for RideLondon, an experience which provided her with the dual benefits of overcoming a personally challenging milestone while enabling her to contribute to the charity which has helped her to achieve it.  

Several days later and I’m at Dulwich Park on a Led Ride. Upon arriving, Lucie, Brooke, and Brooke’s close friend Martin, begin to break off from the other cyclists when Lucie asks if I want to join them. I agree and am soon conversing with Brooke who’s riding his own cycle, a red Tomcat e-assist semi-recumbent trike. Like Lucie, Brooke credits former instructor Emma for helping him to grow his confidence through velodrome sessions. He attended for several months, prior to then introducing his friend Martin to the charity. Shortly after Martin joined, Emma offered both cyclists the opportunity to participate in a Led Ride. Initially one of the slowest cyclists, Brooke rode at the front behind Emma, recalling that: “early on, Emma looked back and asked me if I was OK, which meant a lot”.

Brooke and Martin were soon participating in Led Rides to destinations including the Cutty Sark in Greenwich and Buckingham Palace in Central London, the latter of which Brooke’s wife joined them on. Brooke relays that he has always cycled, fondly recalling a trip he made to Box Hill on a Raleigh Chopper as a scout. However, as an adult, Brooke began to experience issues when riding with friends as he was unable to keep his feet firmly on the pedals. To rectify this, he trialled a Velotechnik with London Recumbents in Dulwich Park; an experience which contributed to him deciding to try a Wheels for Wellbeing session in September 2020. Brooke says that though he has a static exercise cycle at home & uses open cuff crutches, he really wanted to “get back into cycling for enjoyment and to improve his fitness”.

At sessions, Brooke was paired with two trikes: a recumbent Kettwiesel, and a semi-recumbent Mission with elasticated straps – to prevent his feet from slipping out of the pedals. Emma additionally fitted pedals with callipers which helped to support his ankles. As he grew in confidence, Brooke was keen to purchase his own cycle and settled on a second-hand Tomcat trike. He tells me that he’s put the cycle to good use, and when not riding with Wheels for Wellbeing will regularly ride in local woods with friends – sometimes notching up off road rides in excess of nine miles in length.

In addition to RideLondon FreeCycle and several longer Led Rides, Brooke praises the variety of regular Led Rides which Wheels for Wellbeing facilitate. These include trips to Dulwich Park, Peckham Rye Park, Streatham Hill, and Brockwell Park – a place which Brooke thinks has “a great view of London”. Brooke tells me that he’s also keen to return to Maltby Street Market, a Led Ride favourite of his. For anyone who is considering cycle sessions, Brooke would urge them to give it a go: “whatever your fear of cycling is, start as I did – get used to the cycle and put your trust in the instructors”. He is keen to stress that instructors are constantly talking to cyclists and assessing their readiness and desire to go on Led Rides: “the instructors really do have a wealth of knowledge”.

I consider the experiences of Lucie and Brooke as we wait at a set of traffic lights shortly after leaving Dulwich Park. Perhaps the thing that strikes me most is the sheer perseverance demonstrated by both cyclists. Determined to continue to do the things they love, they found an ally in Wheels for Wellbeing and its instructors who are on hand to not only match people to cycles and to supervise sessions and rides, but to empathise, encourage, and empower participants to attain their individual goals. Lucie puts it best when she tells me that instructors gave her the confidence to achieve the challenging RideLondon: “they told me I could do it, and when people say that it gives you the belief”. 

If you’re interested in attending one of our cycle sessions or Led Rides, please see our Cycle Sessions page for further details. If you would like to ask questions, or discuss your specific requirements, please contact info@wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk or call us on 020 7346 8482.

Part One of this article series, “Leading The Way – Try One Of Our Led Rides”, can be found here

Part Two, “Sharing Session Instructor Insights”, is here.

Part Three, sharing the Cycling Stories of Em and Ben is here.