Our Chosen Charity for June 2022 Wheels 4 Fun Disability Cycling Group
Each month, we’ll be making a ￡1,000 donation to a charitable cause nominated by one of the YFM team.
David Gee, Investment Committee Member, explains why he supports not-for-profit Wheels 4 Fun
Q????????????What is Wheels 4 Fun Disability Cycling Group?
Wheels 4 Fun is a Leeds-based community cycling club, affiliated to Cycling UK and British Cycling, that provides weekly rides for disabled adults. It was set up in 2016 and is run by volunteer cycling enthusiasts with experience in disability, cycle training and leading.
The group believes that everyone should be able to enjoy the freedom and fun that cycling offers, so it makes it possible for adults with disability to ride bikes, tricycles or tandems.
Q????????????How have you been involved and why have you chosen to support the charity?
My wife, Elaine, who teaches chair-bound exercise classes, heard of the group and, as we’re both keen cyclists, we wanted to do what we could to help. We became volunteers about five years ago and are now committee members too.
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The disabilities of those attending range from strokes to Parkinsons, other neurological conditions and amputees where balance is often affected. In many cases there has been an improvement in riding ability over time. The group is run by helpers with a variety of skills, including physiotherapists, and also enthusiastic volunteers like myself and my wife. We provide supervised use of a range of bikes, including trikes, three-wheel recumbents, handcycles, tandems etc. I am a tandem pilot, enabling people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to cycle on two wheels to have a go – all very trusting!
It’s a really worthwhile cause enabling people to get out on a bike who otherwise couldn’t. The group hosts two-hour off-road rides at Meanwood Valley Urban Farm every Saturday. It’s really enjoyable and satisfying for everyone involved – a genuinely fun group which brings joy to people whose lives are likely to be limited in many other ways.
Q????????????What will YFM’s donation be used for?
We regularly take the group to the Brownlee Centre in Adel, Leeds, which has a one-mile cycle track. The donation from YFM will fund a year’s use of the facility for our group and we’ll also be able to upgrade one of our older bikes.
“Seeing the smiles on the riders’ faces is the thing that keeps the volunteers coming back. When we have the opportunity to ride on a new route and with a new challenge, the smiles get even bigger.”
Sarah Radcliffe, Wheels 4 Fun
?More about Wheels4Fun
Wheels 4 Fun was set up by Trish Cunnison because she identified a lack of opportunities for adults with disability to cycle in Leeds and wanted them to be able to experience the same enjoyment and rewards that she gets from cycling. Trish is a physiotherapist whose main area of expertise is working with people with neurological conditions; she is also a National Standards Cycling instructor.