Rediscover the joy of riding a bike, says Caithness development officer
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The Caithness-based development officer for Cycling UK says he is committed to helping adults rediscover the joy they felt when riding a bike in childhood.
"Virtually every single one of us knew how to go a bike when we were little," George Ewing said. "But as people get older they seem to fade away from that enjoyment. And when people do go back to it, they find out, 'This is good, I enjoy this – why did I stop doing it?'"
He was speaking as he highlighted the benefits of a new trailer that is allowing him to "deliver bikes – by bike" rather than using motor transport.
Through Cycling UK's Rural Connections initiative, the charity encourages active travel instead of driving for short journeys. A key element of Rural Connections is to offer short-term and long-term cycle loans to help people find a bike that works for them.
"Basically we try to encourage as many people as possible to cycle for everyday purposes, and we've acquired a Carla cargo trailer," he explained.
The trailer has a three-wheeled base and it can take four bikes, either ebikes or conventional ones.
"It's very stable," George said. "It can carry up to a gross weight of 200kg. When it's not out on loan, I'll be using it for delivering bikes out to people within a 10-mile radius of Wick.
"The average weight of an electric bike is anything from 15kg up to 25kg. Most are around 20kg, so even with four bikes it's only 80kg.
"It can be used for any purpose. You can put a fish box on the back of it if you want to, you could use it for beach-cleaning services instead of hauling heavy loads by wheelbarrow, you could use it for local deliveries, forest planting... absolutely anything.
"The rear of it can have basically anything added on to it. It can be from a simple bike-carrier or load-lugger up to a portable kitchen built on top.
"You could use it commercially, for advertising – you could put a banner across the back of it and cycle around to show what you're doing.
"My main goal with this is to 'deliver bikes – by bike', and maybe in a roundabout way put a smile on people's faces as I cycle past."
George, who lives in Wick, emphasised that it is very much a county-wide service – suitable for community organisations and businesses as well as individuals.
"As long as you're a resident of Caithness then we will help to find a bike that suits you," he said.
"When Rural Connections started off, there was a concept of what we wanted from it. A smaller part of it was supposed to be the loan aspect, but that loan aspect of it has flourished.
"On average per year we're probably putting out 150 to 200 loans in Caithness, if not more. And total engagement with people, with doing pop-up events and Dr Bike sessions and what not, is almost 1000 people a year. We'd like that to be more."
George pointed out that a bike need not be seen as a replacement for motor transport but can supplement it.
"If you're able to replace a motor vehicle with a bike, fantastic," he said. "That's a personal choice, and we're here to encourage that.
"But we're also here to encourage those that are maybe less keen to get onto a bike to discover what they enjoyed when they were a child."
George took up his role with Cycling UK in 2021. He can be contacted on 07341 792374 or email him at george.ewing@cyclinguk.org
Rural Connections is funded by the national transport agency Transport Scotland.
