{"id":122608,"date":"2025-09-08T09:53:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T09:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/122608\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T09:53:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T09:53:08","slug":"meet-co-ordinator-of-inverclydes-community-tracks-bike-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/122608\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet co-ordinator of Inverclyde’s Community Tracks bike project"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The Community Tracks programme, run by Inverclyde<\/a> Community Development Trust (ICDT), has been running since 2016, and provides a vital service \u2013 not just in keeping existing cyclists on the road (or the cycle track), but in encouraging more people to ditch four wheels and travel by two instead.\n<\/p>\n

\n Project co-ordinator Ross McIntyre says the group has helped thousands of people over the years.\n<\/p>\n

\n (Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: “Our focus is on recycling. If people donate their bikes, we carry out repairs and maintenance and give them to someone in need of a bike.\n<\/p>\n

\n “We also carry out private repairs, we can do small repairs like replacing a cable free of charge and we try to carry out bigger repairs at cost price.\n<\/p>\n

\n “If it’s a very expensive part, we ask the person to buy their own part or we can source it for them.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Since 2016, the number of people we’ve helped runs into thousands.\n<\/p>\n

\n OTHER NEWS:\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cSince\u00a0I started in July 2023, we have given away 500 bikes and carried out 150 private repairs.\n<\/p>\n

\n “We also help asylum seekers, and we go along to gala events and run Dr Bike Sessions, where we do safety checks and minor repairs.”\n<\/p>\n

\n Ross, whose background is in heavy engineering in the Merchant Navy, said his marine experience and his customer care skills made him an ideal fit for the role.\n<\/p>\n

\n (Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n

\n The workshop started off as an off-shoot of Stewart Phillips Cycles, and has been in various locations over the years, including the Trust\u2019s own building in Muirshiel Road in Port Glasgow<\/a>, and the Dutch Gable House in Greenock<\/a>\u2019s William Street.\n<\/p>\n

\n The project is now run from Cloch Housing premises in Bogle Street.\n<\/p>\n

\n “It is a vital service,\u201d Ross said. \u201cEveryone has either ridden or owned a bike in the past.
“Cycling \u00a0is the most viable form of transport, and our primary focus is to stop bikes going into landfill.\n<\/p>\n

\n “It gets people out their cars and on their bikes.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe do have a lot of cycle tracks in Inverclyde but they can’t be used if people can’t afford to run their bikes. We\u2019re here to mitigate that.”\n<\/p>\n

\n The members of the Community Tracks team are also passing on their skills to a new generation by running classes for pupils at St Stephen’s High School in Port Glasgow.\n<\/p>\n

\n The bike maintenance class started in February 2024, and the pupils taking part are now able to secure a National 4 qualification at the end of the course.\n<\/p>\n

\n Community Tracks has been spreading the cycling message across Inverclyde since 2016.\u00a0(Image: Pexels) Ross said: “We are teaching pupils in the Action Hub, who might struggle in school, to help them get further qualifications.\n<\/p>\n

\n “I really enjoy working with the young people, showing them how to look after their bikes.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cHopefully they can help their brothers and sisters and friends and pass down these skills.\n<\/p>\n

\n “We would like to run the project out to more schools.”\n<\/p>\n

\n Ross runs the service along with one other paid member of staff, John Paul Docherty, as well as a full-time volunteer and a team of part-time volunteers.\n<\/p>\n

\n When Ross isn’t teaching or repairing other people’s bikes he is out on his own electric mountain bike.\n<\/p>\n

\n He added: “I enjoy a bit of mountain biking going downhill at the Greenock Cut.”\n<\/p>\n

\n For more information on the Trust\u2019s Community Tracks project, visit their website on https:\/\/www.the-trust.org.uk\/community-tracks\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Community Tracks programme, run by Inverclyde Community Development Trust (ICDT), has been running since 2016, and provides…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-122608","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}