It’s on a roll… but cycle club needs support to go up a gear
Pedal Power has been holding sessions for disabled members for two decades
Friday, 4th April — By Scott Okonkwo
Adam and Asli Oztoprak during a Pedal Power cycling session
A CYCLING club which caters for people with learning disabilities is making a mass appeal for funds in their quest to buy new specialist bikes.
Pedal Power has been holding sessions for disabled members in Finsbury Park for two decades. Its popularity has exploded in recent years, now attracting more than 50 people every hour.
Josephine Roach, whose daughter Suzie has a learning disability, started the club after she realised there was nowhere for her to ride a bike.
She told the Tribune: “I looked around but there was nothing suitable, so people said, ‘well you better do it yourself’. You can see in the minutes of the club’s first meeting I said I was prepared to do 18 months. Now it’s 20 years later!”
The club hopes to raise £14,000 for two dual-seat tricycles.
Ms Roach said: “They can sit next to each other on the bikes and pedal with the trainer, which helps to build muscle memory, and even if they can’t pedal, the trainer can pedal for them so their legs still move and get exercise.”
Josephine Roach started the club after she realised there was nowhere for her daughter to ride a bike
Erika Severini, a cycling trainer for the club, said: “You can see how much need there is for the bikes but they get used so much that they really take a beating”.
Emmanuel, 19, a wheelchair user, has been coming to the club since he was just five years old.
His mother Samantha described how Pedal Power had been transformative.
She said: “When one of the trainers pedalled with him, he just lit up. He loves the speed. He just enjoys the wind in his face. It’s like a community.“
She praised Ms Roach for consistently “adapting to challenges”, adding: “I really admire her.”
Word of Ms Roach’s club has spread across the borough with service users from the MyCollege community support service and residents from care homes now all getting a chance to ride around the track.
Mykel Maynard, a support worker, said: “It’s been amazing for clients that are non-verbal. It’s hard to find activities for people that are non-verbal, but I can tell when they enjoy this because they’ll just go for seven laps.”
