Cycle Training Courses ‘Benefit Kids Into Adolescence’

If you want your offspring to have good cycling behaviour as they grow up – and continue the trend well into adulthood – consider sending them off on a bike training course when they’re in primary school.

New research from the University of Bristol and experts from Children of the 90s has found that youngsters who opted to take a National Cycle Proficiency Scheme course at a young age continued the positive behaviours they learned as grown-ups.

Interestingly, they were more likely than their peers who didn’t do such a course to bike to school (aged 14 and 16), own a bike helmet (aged 14 and 16) have worn a helmet the last time they took their bike out (aged 14) and worn high visibility clothing for children on their last bike ride (aged 16).

However, irrespective of training, it was also found that very few teenagers actually chose to wear reflective clothes while on their bikes. They were more likely to have worn such items aged 16 than 14 but even at age 16, only around one in 15 said they wore it the last time they were cycling.

“While these are positive findings, we also found that many teenagers don't wear a cycle helmet or hi-vis clothing, and few teenage girls cycle even though the majority of them own a bike. There is therefore great potential to increase cycling, and safe cycling behaviours, in young people,” lead author Dr Alison Teyhan commented.