Falkirk Junior Bike Club (FJBC) have donated £1000 to our fundraising campaign to build a traffic free, 1km, tarmac cycle circuit in the Central Belt.FJBC are the 6th Scottish cycling club to make a financial contribution to the fundraising campaign.
The community fundraising total now stands at £73,088, with a grand total of £520,088 raised so far.
Mark Drackford, chair of FJBC said “The West Lothian Cycle Circuit is a fantastic and exciting facility which will have a huge impact on local clubs and riders”.
“Providing a regular opportunity for our riders to develop their road cycling skills in a safe environment has long been an aspiration of the club, and therefore we are keen to demonstrate our support for the Circuit, through a donation of £1000.”
The cheque was presented to Linlithgow Community Development Trust (LCDT) board member, Chris Horne by Mark at West Lothian Clarion Cycling Club’s Santa Cyclo Cross.
Riders from Falkirk and the Clarion joined together for a fun event at Linlithgow Xcite where the cycle circuit will be built.
Fraser Falconer, chair of LCDT said “We are delighted and grateful for the donation from Falkirk Junior Bike club. We believe that the Cycle Circuit in Linlithgow will be a facility for all of the Forth Valley area and the support is very encouraging.”
LCDT who are leading the project to deliver the circuit are keen to hear from other Scottish cycling club’s who would like to find out how they can help support the campaign for this much needed facility.
Falkirk Junior Bike Club have joined a growing group of club’s who have made a donation: West Lothian Clarion, Edinburgh Road Club, Kinross Cycling Club, Livingston Cycling Club, National Clarion Cycling Club and Falkirk Bike Club (Tom Anderson Fund)
Handcycles help disabled people find freedom, Ken Talbot, a cycle circuit volunteer, explains why our project will boost all ability cycling.
Handcycling – Many people who try handcycling say it’s freedom. As I like to say: For a disabled person; you can go further, faster, and easier than any other means.
But what is handcycling? It’s simply a variation on cycling that allows someone with a lower limb impairment to still cycle.
Don’t have full use of your legs? Then why miss out on cycling?
Handcycling is suitable for people with a diverse range of disabilities including; amputees, persons with spinal injuries, chronic pain, brain injuries and neurological conditions, arthritis, balance impairment, and more.
Handcycles typically utilise a variety of recumbent riding styles though there are kneeling styles as well, so a wide range of disabilities can be accommodated. Bikes can be equipped for fairly simple disabilities all the way up to teta/ quadriplegics.
Much like their upright counterparts, handcycles are made for both road riding, racing, touring, and mountain biking and there are electric assist options as well. No matter what you’re interest or background in cycling, there’s probably a handcycling option for you.
So what’s it like to ride a handcycle? In this writer’s opinion: AMAZING!
Like many, the first time I rode a handcycle I found it was freedom; I was able to do so much more than I’d been able to do before and with much less effort; and this was after about seven years of a sedentary lifestyle after my accident. As my disability has progressed, that sense of freedom has become even more prominent as well.
In the many years that I’ve been coaching, of all the people I’ve introduced to handcycling, I’ve never had a person come of a bike who hasn’t had a huge smile on their face and said they really enjoyed it. Personally, I’ve always loved cycling from the days I rode uprights, and even more so as a handcyclist because of the freedom that it brings.
Yes, handcycling can be challenging at times, as you’re using much smaller muscles to do the same work that our upright counterparts are doing, but this just means that the rewards are bigger. Just as handcycling can be challenging, it’s also quite easy and enjoyable.
As most handcycles are low to the ground, your sense of speed is quite high so you feel like you’re doing more than you are. The recumbent position makes the bikes very aerodynamic which balances out the reduction in power available.
The bikes are equipped with mountain bike drivetrains with quite low gears so climbing hills can be easier than expected. And cruising can be incredibly enjoyable as well the comfortable recumbent position and the stability that a trike provides.
The best part though is that there is an ever going population of handcyclists out there and riding opportunities are increasing day by day.
The cycle circuit: a key asset
A cycle circuit such as the West Lothian Cycle Circuit currently under development can be a key asset in getting people involved in handcycling. By providing a flat, traffic-free riding area new handcyclists can be afforded a safe and comfortable place to learn how to ride.
Without the immediacy of traffic, new riders can develop the strength and skills needed to then take their riding further afield. For some disabled individuals, handcycling will be the first time they’ve ever been on a bike and there will be a lot to learn, and for others they will be learning a whole new way to ride. Combined with the complications that many disabilities bring, a traffic-free circuit allows riders to focus on success over all other things, and progress, step-wise, into more complicated riding environments.
Beyond the beginnings, the West Lothian Cycle Circuit can provide a central location for many people to gather from a wider area to ride and socialise, possibly compete in racing events, and even for some this will be their sole riding environment if they’re not comfortable or able to ride on the roads.
Ultimately, the combination of handcycling and the West Lothian Cycle Circuit is a great way to start, or get back into cycling for anyone with a lower limb impairment. And, the great thing about handcycling is that: Whether you’ve never had “proper” use of your legs, or whether you’ve had a mid-life event causing that, all the fun, fitness, and friendship that comes with cycling can still be had by you, just in a different way.
INEOS employees in Grangemouth took on the global challenge of cycling all 21 stages of the Tour de France and raised £2000 for the West Lothian Cycle Circuit.
By combining cycling for pleasure and daily commutes, employees from across the world, including those in Grangemouth, matched the distance ridden by the professional cyclists during each of the stages of the 2019 Tour de France.
Five teams of employees from INEOS Chemicals, INEOS FPS and Petroineos took on the event and raised £10,000, with £2000 of that donated to the Cycle Circuit. The five teams cycled a massive 20,107km in total.
Terry Banham, HR Director for INEOS at Grangemouth and member of one of the teams said: “This has been a fantastic effort across all three INEOS businesses based at Grangemouth. The combined effort of our employees to commit to cycling the stage distance every day during the Tour de France competition will see a significant donation to local charities.”
“Not only have we raised this huge amount for charity and good causes, but for some participants the Tour de France Challenge has encouraged them to take up cycling for the first time in many years.”
Matthew Ball, Board member of Linlithgow Community Development Trust said “We are so grateful to the staff at INEOS for taking on this mammoth cycling challenge and donating £2000 to the West Lothian Cycle Circuit. Our project will get more people cycling and create a more sustainable, healthier, happier and better connected community. This Donation will take us a step closer to achieving our goal”
The West Lothian Cycle Circuit has received a donation of $1275 from The Cycling Podcast.
The circuit was chosen as the Podcast’s ‘good cause’ during this year’s Tour de France and benefited from funds raised by the sale of Stacy Snyder’s cups to listeners of the podcast.
Podcast presenter Richard Moore said “We have tried to pick good causes on both sides of the Atlantic, partly because the maker of the beautiful cups, Stacy Snyder, is from Virginia and also because a lot of our listeners are in the US – and a lot of the nominations are for good causes in the US.”
“The West Lothian Cycle Circuit appealed to us for lots of reasons. A big one is that it will help young cyclists, but it’s also in a part of the world that I know well, having grown up on the western side of Edinburgh and done most of my training as a young cyclist on the roads of West Lothian.”
“For a couple of years, before becoming a journalist, I also worked as an administrator and fundraiser for the West Lothian Youth Theatre, an incredible organisation that ran workshops and projects throughout the area. I also served on the board after stopping working there. Through that, I got to know the place and also the people, especially the young people.”
Linlithgow Community Development Trust Board member Matthew Ball said “It was so exciting to hear the circuit discussed on the podcast, listened to by a global audience. We are so grateful to the Cycling Podcast for selection our project and to Stacy Snyder for making and selling her beautiful cups which were inspired by the Tour de France.”
Stacy Snyder said “I love everything about the project especially the objective of creating a more sustainable, healthier, happier and better connected community. I hope these funds will get the project one step closer to reaching your goal.”
A 1km, 6 meter wide tarmac, floodlit, traffic-free cycle circuit in Linlithgow
Last week we were were filming at the site of the proposed cycle circuit with Alan Corrie from Images above.
Alan captured this stunning view of where the cycle circuit will be built at Xcite Linlithgow.
We’re really excited about the photo because it’s the first time we’ve been able to show where the cycle circuit will be located in reality.
Our goal is to get more people, of all ages and abilities, riding bicycles. The 6 meter wide, 1km tarmac circuit, will be floodlit and fenced, it will be the perfect venue to build confidence on two wheels and start your cycling journey.
Many thanks to Alan for working with us. We’re busy putting the finishing touches to a promo video with Cameron Mason which will be released shortly
West Lothian Cycle Circuit 