Cycling - Ready, Set, Ride!
To help keep Britain’s kids moving and active during the school shutdown, this week British Cycling launched their HSBC UK Ready Set Ride daily activity calendar.
Launched alongside the Youth Sport Trust as a tool to help parents introduce pedalling to playtime and teach more kids to ride, HSBC UK Ready Set Ride is split into three stages (Prepare 2 Ride, Balance and Pedals) which provide families with all they need to support children to start cycling.
British Cycling will be sharing a new game or activity through their Twitter and YouTube channels at 11:00 every day until Friday 24 April, you can access the full library at any time here.
Don’t forget to share your progress with British Cycling using #ReadySetRide!
Introducing Ready Set Ride
Below is a list of videos to get YOU ready to teach a child to ride a bike, making sure they are set up correctly and safe as possible:
Prepare 2 Ride – Games
There is nothing stopping any child from grabbing a bike and having a go but making sure they are ready can make the whole thing easier and more enjoyable.
Prepare 2 Ride games help to get children ready to ride and are great fun activities to do anytime, anywhere, whether a child is pedalling or not.
Core skills developed through the Prepare 2 Ride games like these set a child up for an active life but have been created with cycling in mind.
To watch:
Skills 2 Ride – Balance
Balance bikes, or running bikes as they are sometimes called, are an amazing way to get your child ready to pedal. Any bike can be turned into a balance bike by taking the pedals off. British Cycling have made a short film to help you with this in the 'Introducing' section above.
They are amazing fun and can help your child explore their community and experience the freedom that a bike gives you at an early age.
These games can be adapted by you and your child and they can be repeated once they are pedalling.
Try taking all these skills out on a ride round your park. What can you practise while you are out and about?
Balance bikes do exactly that: they teach and develop balance, making it easier to then pedal when you are ready.
To watch:
Skills 2 Ride – Pedals
Once a child is ready to try pedalling or just wants to give it a go these games will support them to make the transition from scooting to pedalling – no stabilisers in sight!
Once children can pedal without help, these games will improve their skills and help them to become really confident riders who want to spend time on their bike.
To watch: