Rural Connections

We offered a variety of health walks through our Rural Connections programme.

A health walk:

• is led by a trained volunteer on a risk assessed route
• is less than an hour long
• has a short warm up at the start, followed by a brisk walk and a short cool down at the end
• welcomes new walkers who would benefit from being more active
• is a friendly group walk offered regularly
• is an opportunity to meet new people in your area and explore places you might not have been before

Health walks are aimed at inactive people who would benefit most from doing more physical activity. This can include people who haven’t been active for a while and would like to start again, people recovering from ill health or who are managing a long-term condition and anyone who’s been told by a health professional that they would benefit from being more active.

We hosted regular led rides, which are sociable local rides coordinated and risk assessed by our staff and volunteers. Participants could attend led rides by booking in advance.

Information on led rides was posted on the Facebook pages of each local project. Before attending a led ride, our qualified staff and volunteers carried out a short assessment of participants’ riding skills to make sure they would be comfortable and safe on the planned ride. We also talked through how to carry out a quick check of their own bike to make sure it’s safe and roadworthy before heading out on the ride.

For those unable to ride a bike but keen to learn, our qualified team of staff and volunteers provided them with the know-how to get pedalling. We had a fleet of bikes that could be used during the learn to ride session where simple techniques for balance, braking and pedalling would help to build confidence.

Beyond our learn to ride sessions, participants were welcome to take part in our other cycling activities, to further enhance confidence and expertise.

Our family cycling sessions offered simple tips and techniques for safer on-road cycling for families. Delivered by our qualified team of staff and volunteers, these practical sessions lasted for approximately two hours, with communication and observation skills  developed along with road position and how to move your family through junctions safely.

We had a range of bikes available for adults and children, with the session delivered at a location near participants’ homes. We’ll also demonstrated how to check bikes to make sure they are safe and roadworthy.

Communication, road position and observations were just a few of the tips and techniques our qualified team of staff and volunteers developed during 1-2-1 better biking sessions. Delivered at a pace that suited the learner, the better biking sessions improved confidence, experience and knowledge when cycling on road, ideal for using a bike for those short journeys or commuting to work rather than the car.

Each session lasted for around one hour (which included a check of the bike to make sure it’s safe and roadworthy) with three sessions recommended. Furthermore, our range of bikes, including our e-bikes, were available for the better biking sessions.

For those keen to use their bike for shorter journeys or to commute to work, and looking to build confidence when cycling, then our 1-2-1 buddy rides were the perfect way to develop on-road cycling skills. Our qualified team of staff and volunteers rode with participants, on roads to suit their experience, to enhance their riding skills, and offer on-the-spot advice for safer cycling.

Each session lasted for around one hour and included a check of the bike to make sure it’s safe and roadworthy. Furthermore, our range of bikes, including our e-bikes, were available for the 1-2-1 buddy rides.

We had a full range of e-bikes to try out for free. Participants could test out our step-through, hybrid, mountain, or cargo e-bikes free of charge.

Our e-bike try-outs lasted for approximately 30 minutes, with qualified staff and volunteers on hand demonstrate how the e-bike works as well as assist  with a run through of the differences between an e-bike and a standard bike and make sure participants felt confident when riding an e-bike. We also offered e-bike loans, from a short half-hour local ride up to a few weeks.

We offered the chance to try out a range of non-standard cycles for free. We had a choice of cycles from e-trikes to tandems and had trained staff on hand to support participants to get pedalling safely.