Newsletter - Cycling news - June
Sent: Thu, Jun 28th 2007, 08:10
- Message
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In this edition
- School holiday cycling
- Bikes back n Beijing
- Raising the standard
- Bike Week
- World Naked Bike Ride
- Cycle maintenance for young people
- Bikes mean business!
School holiday cycling.
With the summer holidays approaching we're running our ever-popular cycle training courses for 8 to 11-year-olds. The courses take place in Keynsham and in Clifton, Bristol. Over three days (two hours each day) the children learn how to control their bikes, how to anticipate other road users' behaviour, and how to carry out manoeuvres with skill and confidence. We work with small groups so everyone gets lots of attention. On the last day of the course the children receive certificates and the instructors provide the parents with feedback on their child's progress.
Places on the courses cost £49 in Bristol or £20 in Keynsham. (It's cheaper in Keynsham thanks to a Council subsidy. To be eligible you must either live in Bath & North East Somerset or your child must attend a school there.)
Look at the events pages of the Life Cycle website for dates and times. The courses are popular and fill up quickly - so book now!
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Bikes Back in Beijing!
Everyone knows about Bike Week (16th to 24th June) but have you heard about European Mobility Week? It runs from 16th to 24th September and it's a great opportunity to promote alternatives to single-occupancy car travel. Here at Life Cycle we're expecting strong demand from employers for our roadshows, information stalls and Doctor Bike surgeries. (Book early folks to avoid disappointment!)
Rather surprisingly the Chinese government has said that it will be supporting the campaign. The Xinhua News Agency recently reported that: "Private car owners will be asked to leave their vehicles at home and use alternatives such as bicycles. The average speed of traffic in Beijing during the rush hour has plummeted to 10kph last year (from 45kph in 1994) a speed inferior to that of bicycles." Does this sound familiar?
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Raising the Standard.
At the end of April London's Evening Standard newspaper launched a campaign to give the capital's cyclists a better deal. An editorial declared that: "Traffic planners need to go back to the drawing boad to take account of the greenest and perhaps fastest growing mode of transport in this city... Cycling is a permanent feature of London life. And now cyclists must be given the road space and improved safety they deserve." The paper went on to publish a Cyclists' Charter which calls for better cycle lanes, cycle training for people of all ages, better cycle parking and a host of incentives to tempt more people back onto their bikes.
Good going! Maybe some of the UK's provincial newspapers, who are not currently known for their pro-cycling stance, will now do likewise?
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Bike Week bonanza!
There are lots of opportunities during Bike Week (16th to 24th June) to meet the Life Cycle crew, pick up free cycle maps and other goodies, to talk about cycling issues - and to get your bike fixed!.
- We're running a free Doctor Bike surgery on Saturday 16th June at Willmott Park, Hartcliffe, as part of the community's mens health event. Bring your bike along for a check up or to have simple faults fixed for free.
- Bike for Bugs takes place on Sunday 17th June 10.00 a.m. to4.00 p.m. on the Bristol & Bath Railway Path. There are "bug" clues for children to solve and anagrams for adults to crack. Life Cycle is running three more Doctor Bike surgeries as part of the event. You'll find them at Staple Hill, at Warmley and at Bitton Station.
- Wednesday 20th June is Bike to Work Day. We'll be running an information stall at the free cyclists' breakfast on Bristol's College Green, and a Doctor Bike surgery at the South Gloucestershire cyclists' breakfast Abbeywood (by the MoD).
- Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride takes place on Sunday 24th June. 4,000 riders of all ages and all abilities will be enjoying a traffic-free Avon Gorge. At the end of the ride there will be food and drink, music and entertainment, and Life Cycle will have an information stall. Visit Bristol City Council's website to register for the ride and click here to download a Life Cycle sponsorship pack.
Nudes of the world.
If you want to celebrate the beauty and simplicity of the bicycle and protest against an oil-dependent global transport system you'll want to take all your clothes off, add a splash or two of body paint and then cycle across town. Obviously. Now into its third year year, the World Naked Bike Ride is just such a campaign. Visit their website to see if there's a ride planned for your area.
And a top tip from Life Cycle. If you're planning a spot of naked cycling, wrap a big fluffy towel very tightly around your saddle. It makes the whole experience a lot more comfortable!
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Cycle maintenance for young people.
Life Cycle is preparing to launch a major new project working with young people who may be excluded from education or who are at risk of offending. We plan to run a programme of bike maintenance and repair courses, designed with input from the youngsters themselves. We know from experience that repairing and adjusting bikes has real holds appeal - especially for teenage lads. And we believe that, if we can give them a constructive and interesting activity, it may well stop them gravitating towards anti-social or criminal behaviour.
Very soon we'll be advertising for a Project Manager. We've looking for a highly organised person with experience of youth work, a passion for cycling, and the ability to build partnerships with organisations such as Connexions, Fairbridge, the probation service and local authority youth services. If this is your sort of thing do get in touch.
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Bikes mean business.
In the old days business deals were clinched over a round of golf. Today, you need to get on your bike. Click this link to read a Financial Times article on how Rahul Sood, the founder of VoodooPC, pulled off the deal of a lifetime with Hewlett Packard.
And forward the article to your Chief Exec!
- Sent
- Thu, Jun 28th 2007, 08:10
