Learning to cycle with London’s Pedal Project
In spring I started hearing about more and more children who had done a cycling class in Barnes or Battersea. It wasn’t something that had even struck me that we needed to get Big Girl into, but after hearing mums rave about the Pedal Project I had to go online to find out more.
I was planning on looking into it and speaking to friends who might want to sign up together, but the first time I visited the Pedal Project website I ended up booking four-year-old Big Girl onto a course. I panicked when I saw how many sessions were fully booked, and the extremely limited availability for places meant it seemed to be best to secure a spot straight away.
The Pedal Project guarantees to get children cycling safely without stabilisers, and children aged 4 and up can take the cycling courses in Barnes, Battersea, Catford and Twickenham, which run on weekends and during school holidays. The equipment he uses for his classes is first-class–lightweight, quality Islabikes and TSG helmets. Each course consists of three one-hour long sessions, and most children will be cycling safely after the course. If not, however, there are extra sessions at no extra cost.
Parents are invited back to the class to see the children do a round each in the last five minutes of each session, and we were impressed with how Pedal Project founder Ed Woodhouse encouraged the children to work as a team and learn from each other. I was in tears when Big Girl surprised me by cycling without stabilisers in the last session, and I couldn’t believe the progress she had made.
In my experience, Ed goes above and beyond to help children crack the pedalling code and also offering advice on equipment. In fact, he even fixed a punctured tyre on Big Girl’s new bicycle, and since we were going away and Big Girl needed help starting to cycle herself without any assistance, he met us for an extra session outdoors.
The entire experience has been extremely enjoyable and we’ve loved coming to Barnes for sessions in Kitson Hall–conveniently located a short walking distance from Gail’s in Barnes.
The London way to teach children to cycle without stabilisers–and show them they can learn something that may initially seem hard!
The Pedal Project course costs £60, and there are up to eight people in each class. The majority of the summer holiday classes, which run over three consecutive days, in Barnes and Battersea are already fully booked.
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