Reporter Kevin from BBC Radio Leicester attended The Big Bike Revival Cycling Project delivered by Apnapan on 17th July. He spoke to instructor Arjun, participants Alisha and Nimi , and Indy from Apnapan.
The interview went out live on the BBC Radio Leicester Breakfast Show with Ady Dayman on 18th July 2025.
A truly heartfelt thank you to BBC Radio Leicester.
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We’re gearing up and we’re getting ready for the weekend here on BBC Radio Leicester. Hope that you’re in fine form this morning. And next for you, if the weather’s nice, you you’ll see lots more people jump on their bikes to enjoy the outdoors. But that’s only if you can cycle. I can’t remember the last time I rode a bike or to help beginners enjoy the benefits of summer. A brand new project has been launched in collaboration with Cycling UK and the big bike revival. Well, BBC Lester’s Kevin in Kubay, a man that emits sunshine from his every paw. brave the weather yesterday and met Indie Samra in St. Matthews uh from our app napan. Hi Kevin, I’m really excited to be here as always on a Thursday morning for our cycling course. Um Ojun’s here is busy there instructing everybody, helping everybody along. We’re on a resurfaced wonderful basketball court. We’re right in the hub of the community. So people driving by, walking by in their houses, even if they look out the window, they can see us and just see lots of smiles and fun and us in our high viz jackets. Um, riding some bikes. Indy, you’ve got a really good turnout today. Is this like a beginners’s course? Um, we were funded by Cycling UK and this is through the Big Bike Revival program. The enthusiasm, I mean, considering the weather, I was like, I’m not sure what the turnout’s going to be. To be honest, I debated it myself to be honest. everyone works as a team, really encouraging each other, and it’s really true community spirit. And I’m going to be really honest, Kevin, I was uh really taken back by the response. I’ve actually got a waiting list of people wanting to be on this course because it’s um those who want to learn how to ride a bike and also for those who want to gain a bit more confidence in riding. Okay, Jambi, so what what leg what legged are you? Rightlegged or left? Leftlegged. So, your left leg would want to be on the higher side. Uh, my name’s Arjun Soi and I’m an instructor and uh, my company is called uh, Love Bikes. You just gave the young lady an instruction. How’s she taking it? Um, she’s taking it very well. Considering she’s never ridden a bike before. As you get older, it can can be a bit more nerve-wracking and you can get a bit more anxious, but um, over time they’re getting the confidence. We’ve got we’ve had a couple of individuals learning how to ride, which is great. Yeah. Yeah. I then went to Alicia Flora who is one of the participants in this lovely cycling project. Um it’s now given me the confidence that I can actually go out on the streets and cycle whenever needed. Um cuz like normally I wouldn’t have the confidence. I’d feel like oh I’m going to crash somewhere or um someone’s going to judge me on my cycling. Do you also take heed of the traffic signs and things like that in this project? Um not really. No. It’s just mainly like building confidence and being able to actually cycle. So I I would assess the the learners and um see who’s who’s actually more confident to ride. There’s other other sort of skill sets that you have to learn when it comes to riding on the road or on on uh cycle lanes etc. My name is Nimi Panchcha. You couldn’t ride a bike when you started? Never never ever ridden a bike at all. I’m 63. Uh, none of my brothers or my sisters taught me. And And here you are full speed on a bike. I know. I know. In three lessons. I fell down three times, but it’s fine. I got up and carried on. But it’s amazing. What do you love about this project? Oh my god. An opportunity for you to do something that you always wanted to do. And there’s nothing like late starter. 63 years old. 63. Yeah. Going to be 64 in two weeks time. Yeah. And it’s amazing. Over the moon. Okay. And then you’re going to push down on that pedal. How amazing is that? Cycling course is for people over the age of 18 who wish to learn how to ride a bike or to gain more confidence. And that’s proper important, isn’t it? And the next session is on the 24th of July at 10:30 in the morning at the CF court in St. Matthews. You know, on that multisports kind of platform that they’ve got over at St. Matthews, they’re doing great work there in Disra in St. Matthews as well, telling our Kevin about our APNAN. So that panel is spelled A P N A P A N. So if you type that in, all information will come up. If you’ve ever wondered how to to ride a bike or just to learn again, make sure that you get involved with that.
2 Comments
I used to ride a bike as a teenager, but now in my 50's I found it so difficult to keep my balance and kept falling off. Thanks Indy for your Apnapan Bike Course that's given me so much confidence & experience that I am very good at it now. Just got to buy a nice bike now 🚲🚲
I used to ride a bike all the time when I was in school, but lost the confidence as I stopped riding when I started college and University and nerves would always get the better of me. If it wasn't for Indy offering us this bike course, I don't think I would have ever had the confidence to ride a bike in public, so thank you Indy. Thank you to the instructor Arjun, who has helped regain the confidence.