Treanor family
Fife Family enjoy cycling together through Adult Cycle Training course.
A Fife-based family share their story of discovering the joy of cycling as a family through taking an Adult Cycle Training (ACT) course with an accredited Cycling Scotland instructor.
Tom, was a keen cyclist as a teenager and in the past had enjoyed commuting to work by bike and long bike trips. Louise on the other hand had a bike when she was a child and since then had only one try on a hired bike twenty years ago on a family holiday. She struggled then and decided that she wouldn’t be trying to ride a bike ever again.
When their nine-year-old son Liam started to take an interest in riding a bike, Tom took him out to teach him the basics of how to ride. Louise, keen to get involved with cycling as a family but without confidence in her abilities, agreed to Tom’s suggestion of taking part in an Adult Cycle Training - Family cycling course through Active Fife.
Easter Holiday Course
The Treanor family attended a two-hour ACT course during the Easter holidays with Neil, a Cycling Scotland instructor.
Louise appreciated how Neil started from the very basics.
Neil started with which side of the bike to get on! We then progressed through steering and braking. Before long, Neil was taking us on a cycle and advising us on how to move together as a family.
After taking the course, Louise’s biggest takeaway was:
the motivation to carry on, this was so much fun! I’d really encourage people to give it a go. The course helps you grow confidence in yourself. I can’t help but think of all the years I’ve missed out on enjoying the fun of cycling.
More courses on the horizon
Having enjoyed the ACT - Family cycling course, the family are now setting their sights on advanced courses and spending weekends and holidays exploring the bike paths nearby.
Louise has observed growth in son Liam’s skills since taking the course.
Before he had the confidence to ride his bike without all of the skills. Now he’s got the skills to match. It’s great that he can get out on his bike.
For Louise, the course has helped her cycling confidence.
As an adult you can often let fear or being self-conscious hold you back. The instructor on the course was so patient and explained everything so well.
Since taking the course we have been going out as a family once a week and have even taken bikes on holiday with us. We would love to see more bike routes and paths implemented near us.