Scottish Cycling’s flagship participation project changing lives around Scotland

What is Rock Up & Ride?

The main idea of Rock Up & Ride is changing lives through cycling. Our goal is to remove some of the barriers that prevent people from cycling by improving the accessibility of bikes to those who need it. After the success of the previous run over 18 months, the funding from Transport Scotland was extended for another year, which has allowed us to continue spreading our impact.

Our main target group have always been children. We work in a similar way to our pilot by providing free bikes to children from low SIMD. The bike and all necessary accessories are provided after completing 4 hours of free, fun, and inclusive coaching sessions that equip the young cyclists with skills and confidence to make the most of their new bike.

This year, on top of what has been done before, the project is extending its scope to also target underrepresented adult communities. We cooperate with local clubs and community groups and supply them with bikes that adults can access free of charge. Participants are also encouraged to take up cycling by engaging in inclusive led rides that are run as part of the project.

Additionally, in attempts to overcome some of the barriers that people with disabilities face in cycling, we are developing an adaptive bikes library in Ellon, in collaboration with Grampian Disability Sport. Upon providing various kinds of adaptive bikes free to borrow for a ride, we are hoping to increase cycling participation of people with disabilities in Scotland. Although this is a small-scale trial, it will hopefully set a stone to further improvement in accessibility of disability cycling in Scotland.