Wheely Tots Newsletter 10 April 2020
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While we’ve paused our regular sessions, we’re working hard to safely provide bikes to families, neighbours and key workers during the coronavirus lockdown.
Now more than ever, cycling is an important way to deliver food and essentials to neighbours, as well as helping us feel mentally and physically better with much-needed exercise.
Stefan, session leader and bike mechanic, has been out and about on one of the Wheely Tots cargo bikes today, helping people to keep moving on two wheels.
First stop, he delivered two balance bikes to Paulsha’s home. Paulsha’s borrowed the bikes from our kit library for her twin daughters to ride around on over the lockdown period.
On Broadwater Farm Estate, we loaned two bikes to a Your Bike Project participant and his father. The participant has been regularly attending our Saturday afternoon sessions for young people, led by Stefan, since they started in February. During that time he’s brought his friends along to the project, fixed bikes and helped out where he can. Though we’ve had to pause Your Bike Project sessions for now, we have an online offer ready to go.
Gloria, a Wheely Tots Trustee and manager of the awesome Redmond Community Centre in Woodberry Down, let us know she had a puncture. Stefan cycled over and helped her to fix it. She’s chuffed that she can keep exercising on her bike – and has also learnt a new skill.
During the first week of the lockdown, we delivered five balance bikes to people’s homes, coordinated two large food deliveries from the Felix Project to residents in Broadwater Farm Estate, completed four doorstep bike repairs (including three for key workers) and provided remote guidance and advice to eleven families.
Read more about our response to COVID-19 and our adapted offer.
We’ve taken a few elements from our balance bike sessions and distilled them here for you to do with your family at, or near, your home. Bikes are optional. Have fun!
Things you might need:
Getting ready:
Moving:
Singing:
Exploring:
Making:
If you’ve enjoyed our suggestions and want to help Wheely Tots, you can support our Givey campaign.
Late last night I received a “no caller ID” calling so I ignored it, bound to be some sales type call….
“No Caller ID” called again….so I thought these people are persistent and ignored it again
Third Time – Answered the call. It was the Police saying they had found our bike!!!!!
Totally amazed, in shock (in a good way this time) and when we get it back we can start to use the trailer along with the cargo bikes to do our bit to help with delivering food and other basic necessities to people who need them
Huge thanks go out to everyone who circulated the stolen bike images, and to all those who helped in other ways!
This page was last updated 11/01/2021
From 5th January 2021, England is under National Lockdown.
We’re following UK government advice and NHS guidance around COVID-19. The safety and wellbeing of you and your family , our wider community, session leaders and admin team are all our biggest priorities.
All our cycling and walking sessions are now available online and “virtually” which means we can offer them anywhere, anytime in the UK. Complete the contact us form or click the relevant blue box from the homepage and find your way to the right form to find out more. The only exceptions during National Lockdown restrictions are:
We are actively choosing to move to running “virtually”. Our rationale is that;
We really want to thank you for your generous support and goodwill and to welcome you to the “new” way of doing things which is – for many – much better than the “old” ways from the feedback we have had from our pilot participants.
Offline Sessions
Under National Lockdown restrictions, we are able to offer one-to-one private sessions. Where we run offline sessions, together we will ensure social distancing and hygiene protocols are adhered to at all times.Each session will include an online consultation beforehand where we can discuss any queries or concerns fully.
We recognise the huge benefits of physical activity and being outdoors on our overall health, particularly at the moment. We’ve been adapting our offer so that we can continue to support families to access cycling safely.
As a grassroots charity with five years’ worth of strong connections across our local community, we’re committed to helping those most in need during this extremely difficult period.
Here’s what we’re currently offering under lockdown:
Virtual Parent & Toddler sessions.
These are bookable in blocks of 7 sessions only and it’s not possible to just drop in. wheelytots.com/toddlers has more information.
Family and adult cycling sessions and any other private bookings
All details via homepage.
Online consultations
Book a twenty-minute online consultation with one of our expert bike mechanics or cycle instructors. We can help on anything from sourcing parts and tools, diagnosing mechanical issues, route planning, choosing the right bike, and any other cycle-related quandary. Free to NHS / key workers.
Kit Library home deliveries
We’re doing home deliveries of balance bikes from our kit library. For more information click here or fill in the contact us form To find out how to get the right size bike for your toddler, click here.
One of our trained mechanics will come to your home and service your bike on your doorstep.
What safety measures are we putting in place?
When visiting homes to deliver a bike or undertake any bike maintenance, we will:
Stay well and take care,
The Wheely Tots team
We’re very sad to share that Wheely Tots’ electric bike, a Cube Cross Pro, was stolen on Monday 16th March on Lordship Rec. We use this bike to transport a trailer of cycles around to sessions for families and Your Bike Project, our youth-led cycling initiative based in Tottenham. Pictures of the bike are here.
Although we’re gutted, we’re also heartened by all the empathy and help that David received from strangers and passerbys immediately after the theft on his search for the bag and information. We’ve also received loads of support from people we’ve shared the news with. This feels symptomatic of all the community action that’s taking place right now, proving just how much we can be there for each other.
David was cycling out of Lordship Rec, near the Walpole Road entrance, when two young people blocked his way and asked him for the bike. On the bike was a blue pannier, full of equipment, and attached to it was a hitch that secures the bike to our trailer.
“I went back to the BMX track, where I saw some of the young people who attend Your Bike Project sessions on Saturdays,” explains David. “I told them what had just happened and asked them to take my blue bag to the community centre or the hub if they found it.”
“They were more keen to tell me about what a great session they’d had last Saturday, which was nice to hear,” he adds.
After fetching a spare bike from the Croydon Block in Broadwater Farm Estate – the venue for Your Bike Project Saturday sessions – David explained what had happened to a stranger on a bike, who agreed to accompany him on a recce around the park.
After the cyclist left, David asked a couple of other passerbys if they’d seen his bag. He then spotted something blue on the other side of the Model Traffic Area and cycled towards it.
“Amazingly it was the bag!” says David. “The bike tools were still in it. All my keys – all the keys for everything to do with Your Bike Project and Wheely Tots – were in there. The one thing I’d lost were my gloves, which out of all things considered, is pretty good.
“I passed another guy after I picked up my bag. He said, ‘oh is that yours?’ It was a glove!”
On his way home David passed Park View School, where he spoke to Mr Chambers, a teacher, who gave David the number of the Deputy Head. “I figured out, if someone might know someone who might know someone who knows where that bike is and maybe we could at least get that hitch back for the trailer, which would be useful.”
We’re really keen to get the bike back as it’s essential for our work as a charity. If anyone has any information or would like to offer support, please let us know on [email protected]. Thank you.
Black / Blue electric bike stolen (Cube Cross Pro)
Around 5pm on Monday 16th March , Lordship Rec, near Walploe Road entrance , N17 6BD. The bike was last seen being ridden down Adams Road past the Community Centre.
This bike was stolen by 2 young men from Lordship Rec whilst it was being ridden. Its a black / blue Cube – Cross Pro – that we use to pull a bike trailer for yourbikeproject.uk and the upcoming wheelytots.com/easter sessions. We really need it back!! – in particular the hitch attached to the seatpost – any help much appreciated. Photos below.
Wheely Tots has been shortlisted in the Hoop Awards 2020!
This means we have been chosen as one of the top family activities in the London area.
Next, the competition opens up to the public vote. The winner will be the organisation with the most votes.
The link to vote is here: https://hoop.co.uk/2020-hoop-awards/london/
We are nominated in the ‘Best for Getting Active’ category. You can vote in other categories too but you can just scroll through to ours and vote for us.
We’d be really grateful if you could vote for us and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
The voting closes on 23 March and the winners are announced on 30 March.
We’ve tweeted about it here, and posted on Facebook. Please also like and share to help us spread the word far and wide.
What are the Hoop Awards?
The Hoop Awards are an annual celebration of the activity organisers who go above and beyond to entertain, educate and inspire children nationwide. Shortlists are compiled for each category based on popularity in the Hoop app (that’s views, saves, shares, and ratings), and then it’s down a public vote.
You can find out about Hoop here.
Wheely Tots will be back at Lordship Recreation Ground for Easter 2020.
We’re running parent & toddler balance bike sessions through the day starting at 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm from Monday 6th April to Thursday 9th April in the Model Traffic Area.
More details and booking link on our website here: http://wheelytots.com/easter/
Come and join us, bring your friends!
Since February, Wheely Tots has been supporting the Mayor of London’s Early Years Campaign. We have been finding out and sharing information with families about early years provision in and around the West Green ward in Haringey.
Lots of children in Haringey are eligible for a free early learning place in a nursery, children’s centre, playgroup or childminder, for up to 15 hours a week. Early learning is good for children’s social, physical and mental development and also helps them to prepare for school – giving your child the best start in life.
As part of the project, we’ve developed an online Early Years toolkit for parents and carers in Haringey, which contains lots of the information we’ve gathered over the last nine months.
The toolkit includes:
If you are interested in learning more about this project, or have any suggestions for the toolkit, get in touch at [email protected].