Monthly column with Becky Cox of Swindon Cycle Campaign
On Sunday 26 July the Rotary Club of Swindon North and Thamesdown will be hosting a Cyclothon at Moredon Sporting Hub to raise funds for the Limitless Swindon inclusive cycling project, which supports hundreds of disabled people each week in accessing cycling.
The event will take place on the 1.2km traffic-free, tarmac track at Moredon Sporting Hub. Participants will be asked to secure a minimum of £25 in sponsorship to enter and will be encouraged to raise as much as possible through the event’s fundraising website.
The ethos of Moredon Sporting Hub is inclusion, and the Cyclothon will reflect this, with the day divided into dedicated time slots for disabled riders, families, and an open session for everyone. A limited number of bicycles and adapted cycles will also be available to borrow for those who need them.
There's a choice of time slots during the day to enter:
- 09:30 Limitless Family Cycling (one hour)
- 10.45 Limitless Adult Cycling (one hour)
- 12:00 and 13:15 Family Cycling (two sessions of an hour)
- 14:30 Open Cycling (one-and-a-half hours)
Limitless Swindon operates a fleet of more than 40 adapted cycles and standard bicycles, all based at the Hub’s enclosed, traffic-free track.
Public sessions for disabled adults take place three times a week, alongside a family session on Saturdays.
Adapted cycles – including wheelchair-carrying trikes, handcycles, recumbent trikes and tandem trikes – are also used daily by groups of disabled children from local schools.
These specialist cycles are expensive to replace, costing from £1,500 to £15,000. Many adapted cycles in the current fleet are approaching 20 years old, and after years of heavy use, several will soon need replacing.
Funds raised through the Cyclothon will help purchase replacement adapted cycles, ensuring the programme can continue to support more people in experiencing the many benefits of cycling.
For more information and to sign up for the Cyclothon, head to the Rotary Club of Swindon North and Thamesdown website: https://rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=990883&ClubID=616
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