Meet Chris: Cycle Instructor and Cycling Ambassador

Published: 23/07/20

 

Since ForwardMotion began, our cycle training has received widespread praise and recommendations from residents and organisations across South Essex. Our cycle instructors are highly-accredited and their passion for cycling has been passed on to over 1,000 people.

As ForwardMotion’s cycle training sessions resume, our cycle instructors are looking forward to supporting even more people to lead an active lifestyle.
One of our instructors, Chris Tarbin, has been an instructor with ForwardMotion for over two years now. Sharing his journey with ForwardMotion, Chris tells us how he got started:

I became a cycle instructor for a number of reasons, but primarily because of my love for cycling and wanting to get as many people to enjoy it as much as I do.

I am also a British Cycling MTB coach with a fair amount of experience, so I thought the transition to cycle instructor would be easy… I was wrong! Training for the role was quite intense, although very enjoyable and engaging. I learnt a great deal, especially the terminology that is required and having been a cyclist for the past 40 years plus, I learnt road positions that even I never knew existed!

I was made to feel very welcome by the entire ForwardMotion team. The more experienced instructors were (and still are) more than happy to help and pass on their knowledge. The instructors come from a varying background which I find important because we can all bring different life skills into the role.

We teach a lot of school children ranging from four to eleven years and the feeling I get when I have taught a non-rider to ride a bike is second to none. I believe that child will remember their first cycle training for the rest of their life.

Adult cycle training can bring just as much joy. I get to meet various people who want to either learn a new skill, get back on a bike after many years of not riding, people who want to ride to work or just want to be more confident riding on the road. Everyone I have met have said they have got so much out of the training and it really makes me feel like I am making a difference to their lives.

No day is the same and that is what makes it so interesting and sometimes challenging. It is important to me that the role of a cycle instructor is a recognised qualified profession because that’s what keeps the standards high. Having a professional team behind you makes the role a lot more enjoyable and less stressful.

I feel the role of a fully qualified cycle instructor is an important one as people, children and adults alike gain so much from the courses we provide from learning a new skill to being a more confident safer cyclist.”

Free adult and child cycle training are now available through ForwardMotion. Drop us an email at hello@forwardmotionsouthessex.co.uk to book your slot. Summer bookings are limited so don’t delay your start to a more active future.

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