“To cycle well you need a bike that fits and works well; and nothing beats being able to fix it yourself.”
Today I attended the basic level free cycle maintenance course, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Our trainer was called Chris who was both friendly and extremely knowledgeable. He also took the time to explain all aspects of cycle maintenance from first principals. Now then, prior to the course I didn’t think I was too bad when it came to basic cycle maintenance; but I was amazed how much I didn’t actually know. Chris is a professional mechanic and knows all the shortcuts to make previously difficult tasks really easy. Not only will this course give you the confidence to undertake basic repairs will also enable you to recognise anything potentially dangerous on your bike.
Many of the course dates are designed to fit round busy work schedules, which is why I went for a Saturday course. There where four ‘trainees’ on the course today (room for plenty more!), of various ages and experience. It would be a shame if Travelwise with funding with Merseytravel / Local Authority went away with the idea that there wasn’t the demand for this sort of thing and opportunities to develop ‘life skills’ for free don’t come along every day. Needless to say, having completed the basic course, I will be booking myself on the Intermediate come Monday. Here are the dates for the ‘Cycling Solutions’ course below. Please pass on details to friends, family etc.
Andrew Grimbly
Secretary – Merseyside Cycling Campaign
This course is free to all Merseyside residents under the Travelwise offer
BICYCLE MAINTENANCE & REPAIR COURSE DATES:
We currently run two levels of bike maintenance training:
- BASIC:
Covering ‘everyday’ problems you might have whilst out riding, including:
a basic bike check, removing & replacing wheels, fixing punctures, adjusting brakes, replacing brake cables & brake blocks, adjusting gears.
- INTERMEDIATE:
Covering more complex repairs and adjustments including:
adjusting disc brakes & replacing pads, straightening wheels, bottom bracket replacement, maintenance of wheel bearings, maintenance of headset.
PLEASE NOTE:
DAYTIME courses are run 10:00am – 4:00pm.
EVENING courses are split over two evenings, both running 5:45 – 8:15pm, and both evenings are required for the full course.
DATE(s) LEVEL COST
Tue 23rd Feb - DAY BASIC Free
Wed 24th Feb - DAY BASIC Free
Wed/Thur 24th & 25th Feb - EVE - WOMEN ONLY BASIC Free
Thur 25th Feb - DAY INTERMEDIATE Free
Thur/Fri 25th & 26th Feb - EVE INTERMEDIATE Free
Tue 2nd Mar - DAY BASIC Free
Tue/Wed 2nd & 3rd Mar - EVE INTERMEDIATE Free
Wed 3rd Mar - DAY BASIC Free
Thur 4th Mar - DAY INTERMEDIATE Free
Tue/Wed 9th & 10th Mar - EVE BASIC Free
Wed 10th Mar - DAY BASIC Free
Thur 11th Mar - DAY INTERMEDIATE Free
Tue 16th Mar - DAY INTERMEDIATE Free
Tue/Wed 16th & 17th Mar - EVE BASIC Free
Wed 17th Mar - DAY BASIC Free
Thur 18th Mar - DAY INTERMEDIATE Free
Fri 19th Mar - DAY - WOMEN ONLY BASIC Free
Sat 20th Mar - DAY BASIC Free
Tue/Wed 23rd & 24th Mar - EVE BASIC Free
Wed 24th Mar - DAY BASIC Free
Thur 25th Mar - DAY INTERMEDIATE Free
Fri 26th Mar - DAY - WOMEN ONLY BASIC Free
Tue 30th Mar - DAY BASIC Free
Tue/Wed 30th & 31st Mar - EVE INTERMEDIATE Free
Wed 31st Mar - DAY INTERMEDIATE Free
All courses will be held at our offices at
Unit 101 Century Building
Summers Road
Brunswick Business Park
Liverpool
L3 4BL