If you would like to join Wheels for Wellbeing’s ‘Zoom Social Chats’ on Mondays at 11am, please email emma@wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk
As people dropped into last week’s Zoom Social Chat, more and more had something to say about hay fever! With our breathing being affected by it, the conversation led to how people see us when we’re out cycling, such as when you stop and the traffic lights and cough…There have been all sorts of articles published during lockdown, from those advising us not to mistake Coronavirus symptoms for hay fever, to pieces of information differentiating between the two. One thing we can all agree on is that it’s a horrible allergy to have, which unfortunately some of us have been suffering from since we were children.
On a slightly different note, our Director Isabelle told us about her experiences using the COVID Symptom Study app, a research project by Kings College Hospital and ZOE that has been endorsed by the Welsh Government, NHS Wales, the Scottish Government & NHS Scotland. It asks you if you feel well and if the answer is yes, your job is done for the day. If you start adding symptoms, the app may ask you to go for a test (the testing capacity is now at 200,000 per day). Isabelle had a headache a few Sundays ago and was asked to go for a test, but all is fine thankfully!
A good chunk of chat was around restarting our sessions. We had a virtual Inclusive Cycling Instructor meeting the previous Friday, where some ideas were thrown around. This includes a booking system, very small groups, cashless payments and hand sanitisers. One measure that we are prioritising before any sessions restart is making sure that support workers and carers have a far more ‘hands on approach’ with their clients at our sessions. Training will be provided for this – socially distanced of course.
For those of you who would normally attend our Monday cycling sessions at Herne Hill Velodrome, please contact Emma if you want to start cycling again in the very near future (emma@wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk).
We can now meet five other people from outside of our household, and that is what our 3 handcyclists (Isabelle, Grant and Rick) have been doing. Disabled people definitely do cycle, especially during lockdown on a gorgeous summer’s day! One last thing: when Rick, one of our previous Trustees and Founder of Paracheer dropped into our Social Chat a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned Aaron Fotheringham. Please don’t go doing what he does unless you think WCMX might be your next sport!
