Cycling Federation urges newcomers to take part in “Come Ride With Me” event

The Guyana Cycling federation recently hosted a successful “Come ride with me” activity, which had a great turnout on it’s very first day but was slightly hampered last weekend by rainy weather.

The event was first hosted on Sunday January 9th, will be an ongoing event every Sunday until the month of January ends.

Approximately 40 persons from around region 4 have been coming out to train, mostly comprised of seasoned cyclists and regular competitors, but only a handful of newcomers.

Cyclists will ride as a unit around the outer circuit of the National Park from 5:00am to 8:00am

The activity initially aimed to keep the sport active by having cyclists build on their base training hours, but the event is open to the General Public’s participation.

This is in hopes of introducing newcomers to the sport in either a recreational or competitive capacity.

“Because cycling’s a very good form of exercise and it’s good to have many persons on board for their personal wellbeing. And some persons may start to take it seriously, which I’d be grateful for.”

Says Linden Dowridge, President of the Guyana Cycling Federation.

A larger turnout is expected for this weekend.

“Cyclists outside of the region have expressed their interest and they have indicated that they are coming down to participate in the activity.”

Dowridge notes.

Dowridge is especially aiming to introduce more women to the sport as cycling tends to be male-dominated locally.

He added that much assistance is available to persons with minimal cycling experience that are interested in participating in the event.

“we have persons who are there to share advice. I have a mechanic who will be there to fix any cycle problems as well as to give them good bike sets.”

Bike sets may refer to any cycle adjustments which allow for persons to obtain their optimal riding position.

For newcomers who come out and are interested in becoming regulars in the sport, they will be assisted in acquiring the right cycling gear and getting into a cycling club.