Roland Bell was meant to be stepping again at Kettering Biking Membership, earlier than the pandemic struck. 4 years on, he’s nonetheless there, plugging away. “Simply earlier than Covid we have been attending to the purpose the place I hoped I might do a handover and step again,” the 63-year-old tells me over the telephone from his house. “However as a result of biking was nonetheless permitted, we began a summer season vacation college. All the youngsters turned up. So we carried on going.”
His stepping again quickly turned stepping up. “I used to be successfully left holding the child,” he says. “Slightly than give it up, I made a decision to maintain it going and reinvigorate it. You retain it going as a result of you recognize it makes a distinction.”
The IT advisor turned off-road secretary at Kettering CC has coached on the membership for nearly a decade. Typifying the kind of volunteer who’s dedicated to their position and goes above and past, Bell has earned the honour of CW’s native hero of the 12 months 2024.
Having joined the membership in 2015, he initially helped out with common organisation and educating bike upkeep to oldsters by the membership’s Cyclones organisation for younger individuals. He gained his BC teaching qualification in 2016, and now helps out each Monday evening. His position has many elements, together with teaching the Cyclones, taking care of the membership’s fleet of 25 bikes, loaned to those that want a experience, in addition to organising cyclo-cross occasions in Kettering.
“I took it on, operating teaching classes, doing occasions, the group grew to between 40 to 50 children each Monday earlier than lockdown. We have been very profitable,” Bell explains. “The unique remit was to offer kids one thing to do, off the streets, so we attempt to hold biking accessible to kids who don’t essentially cycle.”
Biking ecosystem
The position of the membership goes additional than facilitating a passion, in Bell’s view. “I took very strongly to the concept biking is a sport for all times. For those who have a look at the pyramid, a small variety of these children might wind up going skilled, however an enormous a part of it’s individuals [at grassroots level], the entire biking ecosystem actually wants these individuals.”
Kettering CC and its Cyclones have prevented stretching themselves too thinly, as a substitute specializing in getting individuals into biking. The membership takes critically its position in the neighborhood, giving the younger individuals of Kettering one thing to do. It’s not all racing, both, with some children occurring to change into coaches or volunteers too.
“Slightly than attempting to do every little thing, we determined to change into a feeder membership,” Bell says. “We’d get the youngsters within the kids at 5 or 6, once they can nearly experience, and convey them on and construct up their expertise. In the event that they confirmed an curiosity in racing or eager to do extra severe competitors, then we’d say, truly, your greatest guess is to go some place else.”
It has labored. The winner of this 12 months’s junior Gent-Wevelgem, Amelia Cebak, got here by the Kettering system earlier than shifting to Tofauti Everybody Energetic, the identical squad as developed Carys Lloyd and Seb Grindley. Cebak will experience for Smurfit Westrock subsequent 12 months.
Bell is evangelical about volunteering, encouraging extra individuals to get entangled. “That is me giving again, it’s my flip,” he says. “I need individuals to return to youth biking, as a result of you may develop right here. Grow to be a coach, coach the youngsters, the five- to eight-year-olds, it’s principally herding cats. It’s an expertise, however having performed it, it offers you some pretty basic individuals expertise.”
He’s acutely acutely aware that volunteers are a finite useful resource. “We have to consistently hold nurturing the brand new members coming in,” he provides. “All biking golf equipment are getting older, so we have to hold the youth teams going, after which hold these riders in touch with the game, so once they calm down once more [in the local area], they rock up and get entangled.” The individuals of Kettering, and its biking membership, have to be very glad that Roland Bell put his stepping down plan on maintain.
This characteristic initially appeared in Biking Weekly journal on fifth December 2024. Subscribe now and by no means miss a problem.
