12 February 2018

Call for volunteers to help in community cycling event

| Lachlan Roberts
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Alisdair Sinclair. Photo: Supplied.

Alasdair Sinclair. Photo: Lachlan Roberts.

Alasdair Sinclair hadn’t ridden a bike since he was a kid, and it wasn’t until a Pedal Power employee came to his workplace and gave a talk about riding to work that he thought he would give it a go and he hasn’t looked back.

“I started cycling just before I retired 11 years ago. I wasn’t particularly fit but after a few weeks I was hooked, and was riding around 20 km a day.”

Alasdair is now a regular volunteer of Pedal Power, having generously given up his time for the past 11 years and is excited to continue helping at the Big Canberra Bike Ride this year.

“I’m a regular volunteer at Pedal Power because I like to support the work they do to promote cycling as a form of transport and exercise, and I want to give something back to the organisation that has given me so much,” Mr Sinclair said.

“I’ll be helping out at the registration desk at the Big Canberra Bike Ride, because it’s a nice social thing to do, to meet other volunteers and riders.”

Alasdair on one of his rides. Photo: Supplied by Alasdair Sinclair.

Alasdair is grateful for the wake-up call he received from a Pedal Power employee and now he rides his bike for pleasure.

“Before long I was riding every day, regardless of the weather and I started to realised that I was liking the cycling more than my actual work. Not long after, I joined social rides and longer trips. I’ve ridden across America and later this year I’m planning to ride from Italy to Norway.”

Pedal Power currently has around seven thousand members, which Alasdair believes is due to the insurance the members receive from the organisation.

“There was a huge spike in members around two years ago after the court case in Canberra when a cyclist had to pay damages to his friend after he swerved to miss something on the road and knocked his companion off his bike and was then run over by a car.”

“That case got a lot of publicity and suddenly we had a huge boom in memberships because anyone can find themselves in the position where they might be responsible for a huge damages bill.”

Alasdair said he was excited and looking forward to helping out at the Big Canberra Bike Ride again this year.

“It would be great for volunteers to come and help out at the Big Canberra Bike Ride next Sunday. There are a number of different volunteering opportunities that would be great if people could help, like a course martial which is always fun.”

“Last year we had half a dozen schoolgirls sign up to help out on the day. It was great for them to come along and to help out and I believe they had a lot of fun. Regardless of your age, there are plenty of opportunities to help.”

The Big Canberra Bike Ride will take place on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin on Sunday the 18th of February. The 120 km ride will start at 6:45 am followed by the 68 km, 20 km, and the family-friendly 5 km ride commencing at 9:30 am.

If you are keen to take part in one of the rides, click here or to volunteer on the day, click here.

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