Cuningar Loop is a new 15 hectare woodland park in Rutherglen, funded from legacy money from the 2014 Commonwealth Games and developed by Forestry Commission Scotland, it opened full-time to the public in March 2016. In addition to an extensive network of paths, adventure play facilities and an outdoor bouldering park, the community greenspace also contains a bike skills area, with a balance bike track, pump track and mountain bike skills course.
Prior to its full-time opening CamGlen Bike Town collaborated with Forestry Commission Scotland to deliver cycle taster sessions to invited guests, community groups and the local public in August and September 2015. A total of four sessions were delivered, with CamGlen Bike Town providing loan bikes and staff support to enable both adults and children to try out the cycling facilities on offer.
A range of bikes of different sizes were on offer, adult and children’s, and could be borrowed for up to twenty minutes. Bikes were loaned on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and most people had to queue to wait for a bike. Bike Town staff and volunteers ensured bikes sizes matched their borrowers, adjusting saddle heights when necessary, and made sure helmets, were borrowed, were fitted correctly. Some people borrowed bikes for the full twenty minutes allocated to them; others borrowed a bike for as little as five minutes. All bikes were returned in the same condition as they had been lent out, and most people returned with a smile on their face, describing the experience as “fun”, “exhilarating” and “brilliant”.
Over the four weekend dates a total of 327 bikes were loaned, of which approximately half were children’s bikes. From these engagements we received 74 e-newsletter sign ups, although only 39 were translated into actual new newsletter subscribers. Due to the high demand for loan bikes our mechanics were kept very busy over the four dates. However we were also able to safety check 23 of patrons’ own bikes, 14 adult and 9 child; fixing any remedial issues and ensuring the bikes were safe to ride.