HISTORY

Volunteer started and led since 2017

Summary timeline below

2023

We continue to gain new participants for our ‘All-Ages Accessible Ride Service’ which runs alongside our other separate ‘Elder Care Ride Service’.

Our Volunteer Cycle Pilot team are nominated for The King’s Award For Voluntary Service.

2022

Launch our new seafront and city centre base. Thanks to an exceptional grant from Brighton & Hove City Council in 2021. It is next to wider accessible cycle lanes (we campaigned with wider community for) and the undercliff shared path that runs next to the sea.

Participants of all-ages can now enjoy the benefits of cycling out together. We train Carers/PAs/family to be ‘Carer-Cycle-Pilots’ for these rides.

Our team of 44 Volunteer Cycle Pilots continue to run our ‘Elder Care Ride Service’ and we purchase 2 replacement specialist cycles for that service too.

2021

We bring forward our expansion plan to add our ‘All-Ages Service’ by one-year, in order to meet Covid urgent need. We receive up to 20 emails a day asking for our All-Ages service in June 2021 alone.

2020

Covid hits the UK but despite this we still offer many weeks of rides out with elders once we can again. Safest place in the pandemic is outside in the fresh air. We are further inundated with high demand for our service… it’s a tough 2020 but we get through with our super Volunteer Cycle Pilot Team as they know the value of the service and some stalwart funders and incredible community support. Passers-by regular clap and cheer to when we are able to take rides again after the lockdowns.

2019

Our 2nd birthday in September marks the 2000th passenger ride and we now deliver 1000 Elder Care rides a year.

2018

Having trialled a couple of ways of operating we settle on exclusively supporting care homes for elders as our first step in a 5-year stragety, as demand is so high for our service. So we focus on people who do not otherwise get to undertake any outdoor activity. This naturally leads us to expanding our Volunteer Cycle Pilots training to better support people living with dementia.

2017

Duncan and friend Craig borrow a Trike from Copenhagen and take elder test riders for a spin. A son of one, so impressed with the effect on his mother, generously donates the cost of the first cycle.

Later that year Elly (pic. with Duncan in our first cycle above) joins Duncan, having been inspired via global social media and wanting to bring inclusive cycling to Brighton. Together they work 7 days a week and launch the charity 8 weeks later in September. We feature on local and national media including national BBC Breakfast TV.

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