Trust Links have utilised the power of physical activity through an 8-week cycling course, to help improve the wellbeing of their members. At the well-known and famed Hadleigh Park, the Trust Links cycling course has been offering two-hour sessions that not only boost cycling skills and physical health, but aim to improve confidence and mental wellbeing too.
Being an independent charity, Trust Links have been able to support over 4,000 Essex residents through projects across mid and south Essex. Offering more than just cycling, they also encourage members to get involved in therapeutic gardening, recovery classes, social activities and environmental workshops. Wellbeing is at the forefront of their ethos, and this extends to the health of the environment also.
Often, there are barriers for people to engage with physical activity and these can range from lack of confidence to financial difficulties. Through Essex Cycle Grant funding and the support of Active Essex, Trust Links have been able to increase participation by removing these barriers and offering the sessions for free.
Sessions were tailored to members as the trained instructors were able to personally assist those who were new to cycling and needed to develop their skills, as well as helping those get back into a rhythm after disengagement from cycling. Ensuring that the needs of the attendees were met was important, to ensure participants were engaged in the sessions and that they gained the confidence to carry on being active!
Upholding enthusiasm for cycling was important to those leading the sessions. Due to the success of the course, attendees decided to get more involved in cycling and they began joining Gwen from Hadleigh Park Cycles on a regular basis.
One participant told us;
“I have enjoyed learning new skills and my confidence has grown. Getting out and joining these sessions has helped my mental health, and also physically as well – I have enjoyed the challenge.”
Hearing from members at the end of the course was extremely positive. They all reported that their confidence, mental health and physical ability had improved, which is the purpose of funding projects such as this.
Learnings from the programme revealed that there is always a demand for more! Participants found a real love and passion for cycling which meant they expressed an interest in other opportunities and projects such as volunteering and training. Hadleigh Park Cycles recognised this appetite for more and applied for additional funding from Cycling UK which was approved and will support the members in further led rides and bike maintenance workshop.
Trust Links have demonstrated the power that physical activity and cycling can have a huge impact on people’s lives. From the learnings and successes of projects just like this, it is hoped that this can lead to the development and replication of more amazing programmes across the county.
