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Providing wheels for all at Loganberry Lodge care home

A Colchester care home in Stanway, Essex, are working in partnership with Wheels for All, to provide fortnightly cycling sessions for residents at Loganberry Lodge.

Wheels for All is a national accessible cycling charity which promotes inclusive cycling through a range of successful community engagement programmes that give people the opportunity to cycle on a regular basis; through help, support and guidance.

With the help and support of the FaNs network, Loganberry Lodge care home was introduced to the scheme to help provide positive emotional and physical benefits for the residents at Loganberry Lodge.

The free over 55’s sessions are based at Colchester Sports Park, running on Friday on a bi-weekly basis between 10-11am. These are on until May 5^th.

Activity sessions outside of the home are actively encouraged and offer countless benefits for residents at the care home. It will provide Loganberry Lodge residents with the opportunity to explore the community, retain their skills and improve their physical abilities.

The Wheels for All scheme has been working in association with Colchester United Community Foundation to help fund the over 55’s cycling sessions.

Edward King, Health and Inclusion Officer at the foundation said: “We were provided money by Active Essex to work in association with Wheels for All to produce a cycling programme for anyone aged over 55, which would be completely free for participants to attend. The sessions started on Friday 3^rd Feb and will be running until Friday 5^th May on a fortnightly basis. After the sessions are completed, we are hoping to divert the participants onto either Colchester United Community Foundation’s Senior U’s programme or the regular sessions that Wheels for All run.”

Jo Smith, Colchester Wheels for All Co-ordinator: “Wheels for All, an adapted cycling charity first collaborated with Tony Lee from FaNs and Cathy Doyle from Colchester City Council last summer in their brilliant Commonwealth Care Home games. My team had a fantastic time meeting residents from care homes and getting them cycling around the track doing our obstacle course. One of the care homes was Loganberry Lodge whose residents fully engaged with our activities. One of these residents was Michael, I remember him well, I am so glad he has come back to cycle with us again. Physical activity engages not just the body but the mind as well and as we grow older keeping both fit and healthy is so important. Our cycling programme with Ed King from Colchester Community Foundation for the over 55’s hopes to reach out to those who feel they cannot access cycling, this might be due of a fear being on the road or no longer being able to cycle on two wheels and we can hopefully change that mindset and get them back in the saddle once again, thanks to Edward King.”

The Wellbeing team at Loganberry Lodge, said: “This is such a wonderful scheme, and we feel honoured to be able to be part of a person-centred experience for our resident, Mike. Thank you to the FaNs (Friends and neighbours network), Colchester City Council, and Jo Smith, who is running the scheme.”