Long standing Wheeler, Dave Tuckwell, recently attended a free cycle training session provided by Tower Hamlets. Dave tells us a little more about the training and his experience on the course:

"Despite having cycled all my life, and on the road for over 40 years, during the last few years I had toyed with the idea of doing the free cycle training provided by Tower Hamlets council so I booked the course through Bikeworks in Cambridge Heath Road, where Sara, the trainer, asked me about my experience, gave me an outline of the course and how it would run.

We began on the basketball courts in Bethnal Green Gardens and went through a safety check before I was let loose. Sara assessed my bike handling, including emergency stops. Having shown my competence we were ready to ride on the road.

Before each section of on-road training, Sara told me which manoeuvre she wanted me to carry out, we assessed the road layout, conditions, hazards and how I would approach it. Afterwards, we went through my actions, which was always interesting as the riding style I’ve developed over the years often took over so I sometimes departed from the instructions. It was very enlightening to have an expert question what I did.

I recommend highly that anyone who wants to learn how to cycle do this training, which was excellent. Even if you think you know, you will learn many things, and it will give you a different perspective on how to ride and challenge you to think about and articulate why you ride the way you do. You are given a certificate as well."

Information about signing up is on the council's cycle training page.