About Us
Our Mission
- To have fun
- To focus on people of all ages with learning disabilities
- To welcome families, support workers and friends of people with disabilities
- To encourage everyone who comes to Pedal Power to improve their cycling skills
- To build community inclusion through social events such as race days and Pedal Power birthday parties
- To create a friendly welcoming atmosphere for hard to reach groups
- To show empathy to all our members
- To work with an awareness of issues of health and wellbeing that people with learning disabilities experience
- To raise awareness of disability with positive images
- To create a sense of belonging and ownership for members, encouraging them to take on volunteer roles
- To help other projects for people with learning disabilities to be set up
Our constitution clarifies the club’s policies and procedures
A Short History Of The Club
My daughter, now in her 50s, is very good at riding a bike and she has a learning disability.
Suzie lives independently and she could only cycle when she came to visit me. I looked around for a cycling club that Suzie could join but there was nothing suitable, so with help from Beverley Jenkins the Behaviour Specialist in Hackney and Caroline Argent from the London Sports Forum, we set up Pedal Power at the Eastway Cycle Track in 2004.
Pedal Power was small-scale, with just two members, originally. I had a tea party at my house which raised around £600 to get started. News of the club soon spread. Within a few weeks we had 10 members. I paid another trainer to run sessions with me and worked with a behavioural specialist so we catered properly for our members. Ray Vallins, a parent of one of our first members, became our treasurer, and was invaluable to the running of the club, he retired in 2018 at the age of 80 and Richard Partington, a parent and long-time friend of Pedal Power, is our current treasurer, supported by a dedicated committee of five volunteers.
Today, we run multiple weekly sessions at three different venues and often welcome between 50 and 100 cyclists to a session. Our youngest member was three – the oldest, 103 – a man who was blind and used to be a cycle racer, he loved our tandem! We’re an off-road club, as our members need to cycle in a safe environment while they build confidence and cycling skills. Our Tuesday, Friday and Saturday sessions are in Finsbury Park, on the athletics track, the Thursday sessions are on the podium at the Emirates stadium and for the last two years we have run a Friday session at the New River athletics track on White Hart Lane.
It was one of many special occasions when Suzie brought her friend to the group; he couldn’t ride a bike at all, and now we cycle on the road together to our Saturday session. Suzie still enjoys Pedal Power, regularly attending and working as a volunteer.
This year, Anne Lavery was honoured with a Haringey Volunteer of the Year Award, recognising her 12 years of dedicated service and commitment to the club.
I regularly see the positive impact Pedal Power has on our members, as well as their families and carers. It not only helps people develop their cycling skills but also provides a welcoming and supportive environment where everyone can share experiences, build friendships, and enjoy a laugh together.
Pedal Power has become my extended family of wonderful members, parents, support workers, trainers and volunteers.
Our Team
