Taster Days

We organise regular handcycle taster days at the Stoke Mandeville track in Aylesbury and these have been a great success. There are usually four of these each year, the first being in March/April and the last in September/October. So it doesn’t matter if you’ve never ridden a handcycle before, you can borrow one of ours for the day or if you have your own bring it along.

We are also running taster days at other locations around the UK, including at Cleavley track in Manchester on the 19th May 2023. 

The location of the Cleavley track can be found here.

A taster day caters for both those that own a handcycle and those who are new to the sport. The Saturday consists of a general coaching session, which is taken by qualified British Cycling Coaches and offers a real insight into how to train for cycling. The June taster day is held on the same weekend as the Tour De Vale cycle sportive, and those attending the taster day have the option to borrow a handcycle on the Sunday, to ride the 25km, 60km or 100km sportive, which starts and finishes at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.

A taster day starts at 10am with those without their own handcycles arrival by 09:30am for handcycle fitting, with a lunch break followed by an afternoon session. For those who’d like prefer to stay overnight Saturday, we usually head out for a social meal – you will have earned it!

So you’re interested in attending a taster day. That’s great, we’ll need some general information about you when you book – this is all on the booking form, so please answer all of the questions as clearly as you can.

You are welcome to attend as of the sessions as you wish. All sessions are open to all handcyclists irrespective of experience and disability. All that is required is that you can operate your cycle safely and you follow the advice given by HCAUK officials. We do require all newcomers to complete the Medical Declaration form and bring it with them to the weekend.

There will be a number of handcycles available for people to try from a number of manufacturers including Draft, Quickie, Schmicking and TopEnd. If you haven’t got a cycle yet and would like to try one out, please come along but let us know when booking!

For taster days held at Stoke Mandeville, rooms can be booked at the Olympic Lodge for Friday and/or Saturday nights if required. Lunch can be purchased from the cafeteria. Those that stay on Saturday usually go into Aylesbury for an evening meal.

Please contact us if you wish for any further information.

Accommodation should be booked directly at the Olympic Lodge