Over the last few days I had the opportunity to visit Big Birmingham Bikes (BBB) and see the events and the rides they put on around Birmingham, as the Big Birmingham Bikes have been turning up all over Birmingham, a few days ago I even came home to find a Big Birmingham Bike in my alleyway, my friend received one which he uses to get around and also to go out cycling with his friends.
The team are trying to make sure that the social element of riding a bike is emphasised and that the Big Birmingham Bike rides develop into community groups that can support existing riders and help to bring in new people to cycle. One example of this would be at Cotteridge park during ‘CoCoMad’ where we had a local women who was willing to learn how to ride a park and the social aspect was so important as we had children turn up at the event to ride the Big Birmingham Bikes with their parents!
This responsiveness to local needs and flexibility in provision is seen as central to the success of the Big Birmingham Bikes programme and during my first meeting with the Big Birmingham Bikes team we discussed Cycling Community Clubs and how we could engage with local communities and pitch activities successfully.
I’m delighted to be part of Big Birmingham Bikes initiative and look forward to working with them in these upcoming weeks and I can’t wait to visit the cycle community clubs around Birmingham!