Keeping your bike on the road.

Children across Knowsley have been taught how to fix their own bikes as part of a cycling campaign.

Organisers say children are often enthusiastic cyclists but come unstuck when something goes wrong, such as a puncture.

The bike maintenance workshops, which have been organised by Knowsley’s Travel Plan and Road Safety Team, show children how to do minor repairs themselves.

Feedback from similar events shows this to be more effective in the long term than having the bikes repaired by someone else.

Ten Knowsley schools took part in the initiative, which has been part funded by Knowsley Primary Care Trust and is part of a wider campaign to encourage children to cycle more often.

“This helps children become more confident cyclists, once they’ve decided to give it a go,” said Cllr David Lonergan, Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills.

“Too often a puncture or a problem with the brakes can mean a bike lingers unused in a hallway for weeks.”

The schools taking part include St Aidan’s, St Leo’s and Southmead, St Mary and St Paul’s primaries and Halewood Centre for Learning, amongst others.

The workshop sessions ran for a week and were administered in the schools by qualified bike mechanics from Cycling Projects.

Pupils who took part received a bike maintenance hand book and a set of tyre levers. There were also cycling related prizes during the sessions.

To find out more about bike maintenance,  contact Knowsley’s Travel Plan Advisor, Joanne Spencer, on 0151 443 2239 or email her at joanne.spencer@knowsley.gov.uk.

Pic caption: Cycling Projects bike maintenance man Rob Norton shows Our Lady’s primary pupil Daniel Quinn, from Prescot, how to get on the road and stay there.