As a wheelchair user Tracey had never learned to cycle and was initially terrified of going down even slight slopes. After learning how to use the gears, she felt much more confident, but still only felt comfortable to cycle on routes she knew and stayed within the park.

Tracey reconnected with Pedal Power after shielding during the covid pandemic, using our hand trike to regain fitness and muscle strength and combat symptoms of long covid. She finds the cycling helps with her cardiovascular resilience and has a significant impact on her mental wellbeing.

Tracey was used to using the cycle paths but going on the road seemed scary. She would only use familiar routes and wanted to have cycle training on the road to build confidence and find more cycle routes she could do on her own. “I was terrified of being in the traffic!” The bespoke cycle training helped build her confidence when cycling on the roads in general and helped tackle specific tricky junctions and a major roundabout which were key elements on one of the main routes Tracey wanted to be able to cycle.

“Gill taught me to have the confidence to be on the road. She told me all the correct hand signals to make it clear to others where I’m going. If I can handle that roundabout, I can manage anything!”.