The money provided by the Ulysses Trust allowed Sea Cadets from the age of 10 to 17 to participate in mountain biking, some for the first time. We run a proficiency award scheme and following training most of the youngsters managed to gain this award.

The weekend training took place once a month on average in various locations throughout the Southwest Area, these being the Long Mynd, Shropshire, Wye Valley, Crickhowell, South Wales, Dartmoor, Yoxter, Cheddar Gorge and Snowdondia in North Wales. This meant a good number of cadets participated with an average of 9 per weekend equating to over 100 participants in mountain biking from all over a large area.

Some quotes from the cadets are below.

Aaron Davies (age 12) “I found mountain biking great fun, learning to ride a bike, but going uphill was hard and I ended up walking. Downhill was great, only fell off twice”

Cameron Barclay (age 13) “Mountain biking was great, but it was painful due to the uncomfortable seat”

Casey Talbot (age 13) “What I liked about mountain biking was when you go downhill, you go really fast, but I did not like riding in the snow because you fell off and that hurts”

Toby Bedford (age 14) “I thought mountain biking was great, especially going downhill, didn`t enjoy going uphill, ended up pushing. I learnt how to do the “M” check, many thanks”

As well as the youngsters, a few adult staff have also now tried mountain biking, some for the first time, as the bikes were available with no expensive outlay by them. This has resulted in 3 staff now taking up this discipline with their aim being to become qualified to take the youngsters out so they can experience the excitement of this sport.

We would all like to thank Ulysses Trust for their support in our activities - this has provided a great benefit to all the youngsters and adults alike.