Ahead of the first-ever UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland in August, World Bicycle Relief, the official Global Charity Partner of the 2023 event, is preparing to announce an ambitious programme of events and activities created to unite communities across Scotland to celebrate the power of the bike.
But first, World Bicycle Relief is calling on audacious Scots to donate their time at the Cycling World Championships.
Cycling fans who sign up as volunteers will join World Bicycle Relief’s passionate team to celebrate the sport’s greatest athletes at this world-first event – all while fundraising to help to provide 1 million bicycles to transform the lives of thousands of families and communities around the world.
World Bicycle Relief’s volunteers will get involved in exciting activations alongside iconic World Bicycle Relief partners; lead community bike rides; support school and club activities; and help deliver inspiring fundraising activities. All with the goal of raising money to provide bikes and train mechanics.
In Glasgow, the Glasgow Green BMX hub will be home to a VR experience where volunteers will help the public can ride a Buffalo Bike and see exactly what the bike’s recipient would. In George Square, volunteers will support a milk churn challenge, where participants will try and shift full milk churns with and without the help of a Buffalo Bike – a great way of demonstrating how a bike can boost physical capabilities and help people transport goods. In event villages around Scotland volunteers will also help sell merchandise and man donation points, as well as host competitions and challenges for the public.
World Bicycle Relief works with communities to provide Buffalo Bicycles – sturdy bikes specially designed to carry heavy loads and handle rugged terrain – to people in need who live in rural, unpaved areas. These bikes can transform lives by helping schoolchildren and adults access education, employment, and healthcare.
Mark Kiehlmann, an Agile Project Manager based in Glasgow, has volunteered for World Bicycle Relief since 2020 and is looking forward to leading the charity’s Cycling World Championships mountain biking volunteer team alongside his wife and three children:
“I’ve witnessed first-hand the transformation that bicycles can bring to children, women and men in countries like Kenya where I once worked. Children could shorten the time taken to get to school by cycling, allowing them to travel more safely and quickly while providing more time for essential chores like collecting firewood or water. While women I met, like Irene, could transport more of the food she grew easily, sell it fresh and get home safely by bicycle.”
“The Cycling World Championships is going to be an incredible opportunity to share World Bicycle Relief’s life-changing message that anyone, anywhere in the world should have the opportunity to pursue their goals without feeling stuck or unsafe due to distance or lack of transportation. I can’t wait to get involved in the biggest cycling event ever where the world’s greatest riders will make history in Scotland and show the world the power of the bike – all while making a difference to communities around the world!”
