🍃 Starting with a Clean-Up

I had a fantastic first session with GoodGym Bexley, helping at Bexley Bike Club's family bike day, and really enjoyed getting involved. It was lovely meeting Sarah and Johnny, and working alongside the amazing Bexley Bike Cub coaches and Access Sport team, a charity dedicated to helping young people access and enjoy sport.

Before the children arrived, we started with a litter pick around the pump track, helping to keep the area safe for riders and tidy. Then we turned to clearing puddles from the track itself.

🪖 Getting Ready to Ride

Once the children arrived, we helped them get ready by fitting helmets and other safety equipment, making sure everyone was comfortable and prepared for the activities ahead. It was great to meet the children and see their excitement as they got ready to take part.

🚧 Cones, Limbo & Lots of Smiles

Sarah and I were in charge of one of the activity stations, where the children completed a fun obstacle course. They weaved around cones and ducked under a limbo bar, showing lots of enthusiasm, determination, and confidence. It was brilliant to watch them challenge themselves while having so much fun.

🛹Taking on the Ramps

After the obstacle course, the children moved on to the ramps to continue developing their bike skills. The kids were all fantastic throughout the session, listening well, encouraging each other, and giving everything a go.

Finally, the riders moved on to the pump track and we were stationed at various points in case of falls and to give lots of encouragement.

⭐Looking Ahead

Overall, it was a really positive experience. Seeing the impact that Bexley Bike Club and Access Sport has on helping young people get involved in sport was inspiring, and I can't wait to get back in the saddle for the next session! 😊

Thank you to everyone that came today to help such a lovely morning!

This week we were back at the Welling Library to finish off the weeding and litterpicking at the front and along the side of the building. Some of us ran a short distance to the task.

We had some new equipment in the form of secateurs and shears to aid us, and we had it all looking great in no time!

After tidying away we had the obligatory group photograph then headed to the pub to celebrate Sarah's birthday!

Tonight’s feature presentation: The Shortest Nights: The Flyer Delivery Mission.

The evening began at Catch. cafe, where the cast assembled for a special GoodGym Bexley x AllPace Run Club collaboration. Our mission? To help promote The Shortest Nights Film Festival at Sidcup’s Castle Cinema. And, naturally, to do it with a little running, walking and community spirit along the way.

After the pre-production meeting, we split into two elite units: Team Walk and Team Run. Different routes, different speeds, same objective: get those leaflets into the hands of the good people of Sidcup!

There were plenty of chats, laughs and local streets ticked off along the way.

No special effects were required, and working alongside the AllPace crew was great fun. It was great to bring together two local community groups, and do our bit to help support this celebration of British short films and producers.

Both teams reunited for the after-party at The Hopper’s Hut. Drinks and a lovely conversations, because every good deed deserves a decent closing scene. 🍻

And now, Sidcup, the leaflets are out there and the rest is up to you!

A sunny Saturday morning saw seven of us gather in the canteen at the Community Hospice, where we were joined by with Jason, the Head Gardener.

Ivar had arrived first, with a batch of his legendary home-baked Norwegian solskinnsboller (‘sunshine buns’). We normally save the sweet treats until after the hard work, but these pastries were too tempting to wait, so we tucked into them there and then!

Suitably fuelled, we headed out into the gardens, where Jason asked us to clear a patch of ground near the children’s playground. Straw-like Foxtail Barley had taken over, some weeds too, and leaves had piled up from the overhead trees. For the next relaxed hour or so, we pulled up the straw and weeds by hand to avoid disturbing the soil too much, and raked up leaves. Hopefully - when we get some proper rain - the grass can grow back and blend in with the rest of the lawn.

This was one of those lovely GoodGym sessions where the task was almost secondary to the setting: sunshine overhead, a friendly robin coming to see what was going on, plenty of chatting and a chance to enjoy being outdoors together while doing some useful work.

And, as always, the time flew by. While a couple of people headed home, the rest of us and Jason landed back in the canteen, for lunch or another bun and a cuppa.

We’ll be back again next month, and if you spot Ivar on the sign-up list, consider his sweet treats an extra incentive to come along!