Well, it’s certainly been a busy fortnight for Wheels for Wellbeing!
If you keep up with us on social media, then you might’ve seen what we’ve been up to online, on the radio and even on TV. With the Government’s big report around cycling investment and increasing cycling opportunities, it’s an exciting time for us to have a say in plans going forward!
The morning after the launch of the report, our Director Isabelle was a guest on BBC 5 Live. She spoke about the Government’s announcement, and how cycling plans must consider the needs and any additional accessibility requirements of Disabled people. This was after Ellis Palmer, a BBC journalist and handcyclist enthusiastic who provided us with his cycling story, recommended her for this phone in. You can listen to the show here (skip to 21:12 to hear Isabelle speak).
Following this, radio host and Wheels for Wellbeing supporter Jeremy Vine mentioned us in his radio show on Wednesday 29th July. In fact, as soon as one of his listeners about us and what we do, she called the office to find out more! We’ve been chatting to Jeremy about cycling a lot over the past few months, and even went on a cycle ride around London with him last month – this is the resulting video (you can see it below, too). How kind of Jeremy Vine, who’s an avid cyclist himself, to support us to get our message out there that Disabled people can and do cycle!
Isabelle then spoke at a webinar on Thursday 30th July, which was hosted by Cycling UK for its “Women’s Festival of Cycling” celebrations. The session focused on how cycling can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone – no matter their age or impairment. Recorded and uploaded onto YouTube, the webinar can be watched here.
Finally, last Thursday, Isabelle featured speaking and cycling along the back streets of Brixton, in a BBC London News feature that discussed the fact that cycling infrastructure can sometimes cause accessibility problems for some Disabled people, if it isn’t thought through properly.
We’re absolutely thrilled to see that our message is getting out there and people are wanting to hear what we’ve got to say. Every appearance leads to more Disabled people hearing us and thinking they might be able to cycle too!