Ms BYRNES (Cunningham): On the last Saturday of each month, The Disability Trust hosts CycleAbility and last month the State Member for Wollongong and I were lucky enough to attend and have a ride with participants – and it was our very first ride on an electric bike.
The Saturday morning CycleAbility program teaches participants:
- Bike riding and safety skills,
- Road awareness,
- Road rules,
- Bike maintenance, and
- How to be active and healthy.
The CycleAbility program was created in 2021 when the Chief Operating Officer, Ed Birt, raised start-up funds by riding his bike from the coast of Western Australia to Sydney. The program supports people with disability to learn how to ride bikes, and to enjoy all of the benefit and joy of cycling.
Riding a bike may be taken for granted by some, but for some others it can be an empowering experience, supporting independence, fitness, and social inclusion.
Like any community program, there is a large team behind its success, and I would like to thank the following staff, volunteers and participants for their contributions:
- Carol Berry,
- Matt McMaugh,
- Carol Heijo,
- Ben Mayhew,
- Brad Heffernan,
- Helen Bugg,
- Fred Day,
- Clare Berry,
- Oliver Garbutt,
- Bodhi Dreyfus Ballesi,
- Mitchell Kober,
- Benjamin Manzin,
- Stephen Garvan,
- Benjamin Biehl,
- Michael Norris,
- Mel Norris,
- And of course, Ed Birt.
A massive thank you to the sponsors: Illawarra Cycling Community, iBug, Wollongong City Council, Destination Wollongong, and Healthy Cities Illawarra.
Great work all!
