Greenlink

Greenlink Mountain Bike Club

Zen & the art of bicycle maintenance
The Greenlink is a community engagement project which has been working in Motherwell for 4.5 years.

After conducting a Youth Survey in 2007 it became apparent that there was a demand from local children to get involved in Mountain Biking in the local area.

The Greenlink ran a summer programme in 2008 where over 15 children took part in mountain biking sessions throughout the summer holidays however they were keen to get involved in more regular sessions.

As a result of the Community Innovation Fund from Cycling Scotland awarding the Greenlink £5,000 it has been possible to set up a Mountain Biking Club which has rides taking place every Sunday.

The club has a constituted committee and eighteen members. The committee has been trained up on Committee Skills. The committee has a chair, vice-chair, secretary, treasurer, two welfare officers, one member and two co-oped members. The committee meets every months. Four of the committee are being preparing to be trained as Trail Cycle Leaders, as at the moment the club hires a sessional worker every week to lead the rides. This role is funded partly by CCIF and Scottish Natural Heritage. The aim is to have four qualified volunteer leaders by Summer 2010 so the club will be entirely volunteer led. We aim to have the volunteers trained up before the end of 2009 with the assessment within three months.

The Greenlink has also been working with Strathclyde Police to reduce the number of illegal scramble bikers on the Greenlink. By Cycling Scotland awarding the Greenlink funding then we have been able to operate a free up-lift service from the Greenlink to North Lanarkshire Scramble and Quad Bike Club (NLSQBC) where bikers can ride legally and safely.

Some figures:

 19 rides taken place since 17th May 2009
 Average of 7.5 people attending rides every Sunday since
 5 away days since 17th May, one including over night camping trip
 18 members – including four families
 5 people attend fortnightly bike maintenance sessions since 14th September
 4 members attending fortnightly map reading/leadership skills training since 19th October
 6 members completed Emergency First Aid training with additional 4 hours of bike injury training.
 5 committee members preparing for Trail Cycle Leader Training