Bikeability and Decathlon help more children get cycling
We have been working with our brand partner Decathlon to get as many children and their families cycling as possible.
April 2, 2024
We have been working with our brand partner Decathlon to get as many children and their families cycling as possible.
In-store cycling
Decathlon, one of the largest sports retailers in the world who offer over 70 sports instore and online, have been supporting children to learn to cycle with lots of fantastic initiatives, including at their branch in Stockport.
The store set aside some space in their car park to have regular Bikeability lessons for children who need a bit of support to access their pedal power! So far, they have taught 160 children riding skills, across 36 sessions. They worked with Bikeability training provider BikeRight! and their instructors who delivered the lessons.
“It’s been amazing to have Bikeability sessions run from our Decathlon store this past year and a big thank you to BikeRight! who have organised each session. It has allowed our team to see the power of Bikeability first hand and also help the children with their cycling journey through advice or repairs in the stores.” Dave Baker, Decathlon
The Bikeability sessions have proved very popular and Decathlon are hoping to expand the initiative to more of their stores across the country. At the start of 2024, they are running sessions from their Stockport, Warrington and Surrey quays store. The lessons will be running through April and May in line with Decathlon’s Mobility campaign to get more people traveling to school or work. Each child will receive a free £15 voucher for the session.
Supporting Get Cycling in Schools
To help Bikeability ensure as many children as possible have access to the life skill of cycling, Decathlon have also provided a number of cycles and helmets to our Get Cycling in Schools programme at a heavily discounted rate.
The Get Cycling in Schools programme gives primary school teachers the skills to deliver cycle training which draws on the Bikeability syllabuses of Balance, Learn to Ride and Level One. This means we can teach even more children the basics of cycling so they’re ready to take part in their Level 2 training with our expert instructors.
Thanks to Decathlon we have been able to reach even more children. They have provided over 900 cycle helmets and almost 400 cycles to the programme, so even children without access to cycles or accessories can take part.
Celebrating cyclists
As well as helping to make sure the next generation of cyclists have top notch skills, Decathlon also helped us celebrate some amazing Bikeability superstars. As part of our annual Celebration of Bikeability in 2023, they sponsored our large organisation of the year category, providing fantastic prizes to the worthy winners.
The award recognises a team of Bikeability instructors and their organisation who work hard to get as many children cycling as possible. The winners, Go Velo, who scooped the award for the second year in a row, got a very generous £750 Decathlon voucher.
“We were delighted to be awarded Bikeability Large Organisation for 2023 for the second year running. It’s great to be recognised and rewarded for the fun, progressive and inclusive training. We are chuffed to bits!” Go Velo
Cycle to School Week
Decathlon also supported us during Cycle to School Week, our annual celebration of cycling where we encourage as many kids, and their parents, to cycle to school. We gave out prizes throughout the week, including one donated by Decathlon. They provided the amazing spot prize of a brand new Rock Rider cycle and accessories. The prize went to Jaykob, who was delighted with his brand new cycle!
This year, Cycle to School Week will take place between Monday 23 – Friday 27 September 2024. There will be more info on how you can get involved with the nationwide event coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled!
“Jaykob is very happy with his new bike, we’ve finally been able to go on our first family bike ride and found lots of new cycle routes.” Jaykob’s mum
Making cycling more accessible
Decathlon are also striving to ensure as many people as possible can access cycles at affordable prices with their Buyback service.
The service offers customer the opportunity to trade in their old sporting equipment in exchange for a Decathlon voucher that can be used against their next purchase. Perfect if your kids have outgrown their cycles!
Over 50% of the cycles traded in under the Buyback service are kids cycles, meaning Decathlon can make purchasing bikes more affordable and help more children learn to ride.
Plus the old equipment doesn’t go to waste – Deacthlon’s Workshop Teammates refurbish and repair the old gear and sell it in their Second Life marketplace. This means one less product goes to waste and one less product gets made. A small but significant step towards consuming in a more sustainable way.
You can find out more about the Decathlon Buyback service here.
Supporting our instructors
On top of all this, Decathlon also offer all our instructors and industry a 10% discount, meaning they are able to get the cycles and equipment they need at a great price!
‘We want to help support everyone at Bikeability including instructors and training providers. This year we will have a unique 10% discount for every member and we also offer bulk discounts for providers looking to purchase equipment for their sessions. Our aim is to make cycling accessible to everyone and we know cost is a big part of this.’ Dave Baker, Decathlon.
We love working with Decathlon – they are a partner that gets how important it is to inspire and empower as many children as possible to choose cycling and other methods of active transport as part of their day-to-day lives!
