Cycling UK celebrated Bike Week 2024 by raising awareness and showcasing the positives of cycling.
The annual event took place from June 10-16 and the theme was #BikeHero.
Balanceability is the UK’s only afPE Approved Learn to Cycle programme for children in early years and KS1. For Bike Week they conducted a survey to find out who the number #BikeHero is.
Sir Chris Hoy, 11-time world champion and a six-time Olympic champion, claimed top spot with Sir Bradley Wiggins and Victoria Pendleton in second and third place.
The survey also included asking people when they learnt to ride a bike and who taught them to ride a bike.
20% of cyclists that Balanceability surveyed said they learnt to ride a bike before school age, and 61% learnt to ride during primary school. Only 2% of those surveyed were taught to ride a bike at school.
55% of children were taught to ride a bike by their dad compared to 11% being taught by their mums.
24-year-old multimedia content producer Megan Armitage shared her experiences with cycling and said her #BikeHero was her mum.
Armitage, from Halifax, learnt to ride a bike at the age of four and was taught by her mum whose job was to teach primary school children to ride a bike!
When asked about what she gets out of cycling, she said: “It completely allows me to switch off.
“I can look at the greenery and take in the fresh air.
“It’s also brought a love for competitive cycling. I do triathlons and I did a competitive cycle race last year.”
Officially a triathlete 💪
— Megan Armitage (@armo_meg) May 12, 2024
Time: 2:29.13
9th woman
51st overall
And actually loved every second ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uqkE4RtBH8
She explained how important it is for young people to have the skill of riding a bike due to the health benefits and the enjoyment of getting out and being active.
Talking about the success of Bike Week, she said: “If it can get one more person out cycling safely, that’s a huge part of cycling awareness.
“It’s a really fundamental skill and weeks like that, that highlight it, are really important.
“I would like to see more promotion about it – even if that means putting up posters in parks where a lot of young people are.”
Armitage, who lives in Wimbledon Park, then went on to explain how she would inspire someone to get into cycling.
She said: “The best way to help people get into cycling is to go on a bike ride together. Cycling through the city or through the park is a perfect opportunity to look around, switch off and it’s easy exercise.”
Become a member or donate to Cycling UK today at https://www.cyclinguk.org/bikeweek
