Velocity AGM 2017 – Wednesday 28 June 2017 at 7.00pm

It’s almost time for the Velocity AGM! It will be taking place in the Velocity Cafe at 7.00pm on Wednesday 28 June.

You are warmly invited to come along and meet the Velocity Board, ask questions and hear about what we have been up to over the last 12  months……and even more importantly, find out about our plans for the future.

We are also interested in hearing from you if you are interested in joining the Velocity Board of Management – if you are, please get in touch and we can tell you more about it.

Women’s Cycle to health job

We are looking for an addition to our wonderful team of dedicated workers to join the Women’s Cycle to Health Team- see below for the job description and person spec.

Please send your CV and a covering letter explaining how you meet the requirements of the job and why you feel you would be an asset to the team to Ferga Perry, Projects Coordinator, 1 Crown Ave, Invernesss IV2 3NF, or [email protected] by 9am on Monday 12th June. Please include 2 referees who will be contacted only if you are the successful applicant.

Interviews will take place on Thursday 15th June. 

Women’s Cycle to Health Project Worker

Job Description

 Hours – 11.5 hours per week on average; 1 day a week (9am-5pm), 1 evening on alternate weeks (5pm to 9pm- possibly a 12 hour day) and 1 Saturday morning in 4.
Annual Leave – 5.6 weeks paid annual leave.
Salary – £6142.50 per year (before tax and NI)
We are looking for a woman for this post (Schedule 9 (Part 1) of the Equality Act 2010)

Tasks

– Plan and deliver a robust project to engage women with mild mental health difficulties using bicycle riding in a group as a way to improve mental health

– Stock management and maintenance – bikes, riding kit, tool kit, garage

– Design and distribute promotional materials and course handouts for participants

– Engage with stakeholders and partners to ensure joined-up approach to delivery

– Write monthly reports of activity for board of directors and funders

– Keep clear and accurate records of delivery activities, and ensure follow-up questionnaire to identify behaviour change

Personal Skills & Attributs
Essential:

-Good understanding of the effects of poor mental health on people

-Excellent knowledge and experience of how best to support people suffering from mental health issues

-Previous experience of working positively with groups and facilitating an individual’s experience within a group setting

-Experience of delivering cycle training to groups, on and off public roads or a willingness to work towards this

-Ability to liaise with external partners to ensure ongoing referrals for project

-Good project building and delivery experience

-Ability to work positively and effectively in a small team

-Working to high levels of confidentiality and working with vulnerable adults/groups

-Cycle Trainer qualification, Trail Cycle Leader or similar qualification or willingness to work towards this

Desirable

-Good working knowledge of bicycles and high skill level of bike maintenance

-Driving license

This job is subject to PVG disclosure.

Cycling skills, led rides and Dr Bikes to get you on your bike this summer!

We’ve got a whole range of free cycling sessions happening over the summer all aimed at getting you on your bike.
Frightened of riding on the road? Come to our intro to riding on quiet roads. 
Happy on quiet roads but stressed out by roundabouts and major roads? Come to our Busy roads session.
Find yourself pushing up hills because you don;t understand gears? There’s a session perfect for you. 
Want to learn to fix a puncture or take your wheel off? Come to our workshop session on wheels and tyres.

Go to the events page for dates and times and click on the link to book your space. 

We’ve also got 2 drop-in Dr Bikes in Inverness and Dingwall where there’s no need to book. 

Happy Cycling!

Our winner of the “Log Your Journey” tells her story

We celebrated the end of our year of GoByCycle with a celebration in the cafe and also announced the winner of the Log Your Journey Challenge by selecting from randon a name from the hundreds of people who had logged journeys (35,614 miles of them) over the year. We hope that Marcia’s story continues to inspire you to keep on riding! This is what she had to say:

“I heard about the Go ByCycle programme in January, and I joined in the GoJan17 challenge of a task a day.  Although I wasn’t able to keep up with the challenges in January, I did sign up to log my alternative transport miles until the end of March.  I had already been cycling to work a few times a week, but as you know, it isn’t easy in the winter time when the days are short and the weather often challenging.  I live in  Fortrose and my work commute is 20 miles one way, with some of this on a road busy with car commuters, so motivation is a requirement!  The Go ByCycle programme and incentive of winning £1000 towards a new bike was just the motivation I was needing!  After doing a bit of quick math in my head, I decided I would try to cycle 1000 miles by the end of March…this worked out to about 100 miles a week.  Having this goal really pushed me to get on my bike on all those cold and dark winter mornings.  On days when the weather was a bit dicey instead of driving to work, I might drive part way and cycle the rest, and there were a couple of occasions when I offered a co-worker a lift rather than driving in alone.  I was really pleased that I was able to reach my goal of 1000 miles by the end of March, and I’ve even set myself a personal goal to carry on and cycle another 1000 miles over the next 3 months.  Even though I only participated for three months in the programme, it was enough to make cycling to work more of a habit, and something I definitely look forward to. I’ve been saving money on fuel and keeping fit, not to mention the benefits to the atmosphere of leaving my car at home.  Most of all, cycling reminds me that life is meant to be lived at a slower speed. “

We’re delighted that Marcia has won £1,000 towards a new bike are are looking forward to working with her to make sure she gets a good one!