View the album on flickr.

Last month, we organised our first fundraiser, The Power of Cycling, at the wonderful cycling café Look Mum, No Hands in Old Street (London):

The event explored the amazing power of cycling to change people’s lives, and was kicked off in style with a hilarious introduction from current Wheels for Wellbeing participant and comedienne of Touretteshero fame,Jess Thom. In her inimitable style, Jess spoke about how cycling with Wheels for Wellbeing has improved her wellbeing and her life. She talked of the importance of challenging societies’ attitudes towards Disability and of how she’s planning to reorder her working week so she can make Mondays her wellbeing day, including cycling at Herne Hill. Ant McCrossan and Rachael Elliott, then spoke in conversation with one of Wheels for Wellbeing’s Trustees, Chris Park, about some of their experiences and achievements from the world of cycling. We heard about some of Ant’s most memorable commentating moments and Rachael’s told us about her cycling achievements before and since her stroke. You can watch the first half of the event here.

Wheels for Wellbeing Director, Isabelle Clement then led the conversation towards issue of diversity and inclusion in cycling. Rachael spoke about her experience recovering from her stroke, which resulted in her being visually impaired, and her journey back into cycling. It was interesting to hear how her attitude to training has changed as a result her stroke; while she still enjoys cycling and still trains hard, she now finds that she has more balance with her life outside cycling. Ant expressed the opinion that there is much work to be done to ensure that everyone has access to cycling, regardless of gender, race, Disability etc. Isabelle spoke about the years that she spent not knowing that cycling was an option for her, and the joy that she found once she discovered that she could cycle! The second half of the event is available to watch here.

We were delighted with how the evening went, and you can watch the whole event by going to and our sincere thanks go to: Anthony McCrossan and Rachael Elliot, Emma Wade, Jess Thom, our raffle prize donors (Bespoke M, Brixton Brewery, the British Film Institute, Indigo Wine, Herne Hill Velodrome), Alex Davies and Look Mum, No Hands for their kind donation of the space, and of course to the wonderful Wheels for Wellbeing staff and volunteers who made it all happen on the night. Watch this space for future events!