Bradford cycling instructor Mike Healy, 86, still teaches children to ride

Mike Healy, an 86-year-old cycling instructor in Bradford, is still teaching children to ride almost 30 years after he set up a children's club to pass on skills he learned as a boy. He learned to ride in 1947, when he was six and three quarters, and has been part of East Bradford Cycling Club for around 50 to 60 years.

Organisers estimate he has taught thousands of children. He gets the bus every Saturday morning and turns up to volunteer even at 86. During a session, he worked with a young rider called Rufus, encouraging him to corner and telling him to keep his hand on his leg. His coaching style is described as old school, with traditional values, firm but fair.

Those who know him say his impact in Bradford is considerable. A surprise presentation was arranged after he was told the cameras were there to report on sports facilities in Yorkshire. Instead, the item was about him, and he was given a jersey with his name on it. Children shouted thanks, and one described it as amazing.

He said: 'If I'd known that I started on the 6th of June 1998, I'd still be doing it, walking with a stick. 28 years later, I might have thought twice. And then I've done this anyway, because it's fun.'

Asked when he would give up, he said: 'Probably when my view of the club is interrupted by the lid of a pine box.' He added that his ideal is that children he teaches will still be having fun on a bike when they are his age. He said watching a child realise they are riding gives him a lift, especially the look of surprise on their faces. He described that joy as infectious.