‘The buzzword is fun’ – Rock Up and Ride sessions aim to encourage cycling culture
A CYCLING programme which encourages young folk to just “rock up and ride” has received effusive praise in Shetland.
The scheme – which gives bairns the chance to try their hand at BMX biking indoors and outdoors – is hoped to lead to more folk choosing to cycle in future.
Delivered by Scottish Cycling, Shetland News was in Brae on Thursday afternoon to watch a sold-out class leap ramps, and wobble and wheelie their way through obstacles – all at their own pace.
For the first time the session was delivered in partnership with Skate Shetland – with half the Brae school gym finding their feet on a skateboard as well.
Scottish Cycling’s playmaker for Shetland, Cara McDiarmid, said the aim was to “embed cycling culture in Shetland from a young age”.
“The buzzword is fun, we want things that are enjoyable to do,” she said. “This is so fun.”
Gesturing to the room full of smiling faces, it’s clear that the fun threshold has been meet.
This is not a one-off either – on a previous trip to Brae earlier this year, all 11 of the participants told Scottish Cycling they had enjoyed the session and felt that they had developed or progressed their cycling skills.
The Rock Up and Ride programme not only aims to get more people out on two wheels, but aims to do so in a way that gives everyone equal access to cycling.
The session is free, with a permanent container containing 16 BMX bikes situated outside the Brae gym hall’s back door.
Eight BMX bikes were also recently sent to Fair Isle, giving children on the island the chance to ride and explore.
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The Brae session we attend starts just after school ends, and programme officer Nathan Brown said ideally they would like the classes “to be in curriculum time”.
“We know there are some barriers to this,” he said.
“We know that some people might not be able to get to after school classes, to stay after school.
“It might not appeal to some of the ones that don’t enjoy school either.”
But Scottish Cycling says that Rock Up and Ride – which is funded by the Scottish Government – is reaching those who face the greatest barriers to sport.
It said that 35 per cent of its participants in 2025/26 were living in the most deprived quintile (fifth) of people in the country.
Locally the scheme is administered by playmaker McDiarmid, with Grant Ferguson – Shetland’s gold medal-winning cyclist at the 2025 Island Games – not a bad choice as cycling lead.
Brown comes to the isles every few months to deliver sessions, though they continue when he’s not here – with more in Brae next week.
It’s not just Brae that hosts them, with Hamnavoe and Mossbank primary schools inviting Brown and co. along earlier this year.
He says the young folk involved had been asking for skateboard sessions, which led to them reaching out David Sutherland of Skate Shetland about joining them.
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Researcher Mia Carballo, who published an impact evaluation on Rock Up and Ride’s 2025/26 programme for Scottish Cycling, said that Shetland was her favourite place to visit.
And her report found that Shetlanders had loved the sessions too, with feedback described as “highly positive” in the isles.
“There was notable enthusiasm for BMX cycling, identified as an accessible and engaging entry point for cycling participation and potentially for local transport,” she wrote.
“BMX bikes appear to offer a novel and accessible way for young people to engage with cycling locally, acting as a potential gateway into more regular cycling activity in Shetland.”
McDiarmid, who started in her role as playmaker in August, said the scheme had been “really, really successful”.
“Scottish Cycling is serious about this project in Shetland,” she said.
“The aim is to have a base school in each area of Shetland, and a container [of bikes] at each school.
“We’re fully booked for this session, and Nathan could be here every few months as well.”
Brown said they were always “looking to work with new schools”.
“We want to expand really across the whole island,” he added.
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