Newsletter - Cycling News | June
Sent: Thu, May 29th 2008, 08:54
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Welcome to the June edition of the electronic newsletter from Life Cycle UK, the cycle promotion charity. In this issue….
Cycling city – latest news!
Bike Week
Two's Company
Meet the team
Bike maintenance workshops
Liberating the “cul-de-sac kids”
Cycle training
Cycle homes
Cycle parking
Cycling city – latest news!
In our last newsletter we reported on an England-wide competition to select 11 cycling demonstration towns and a single cycling demonstration city. The winners will be those Councils who put forward convincing ideas for increasingly levels of cycling significantly over a three year period.
Here at Life Cycle we’re thrilled to see that Weston-Super-Mare has been short-listed to be a cycling town while Bristol has a one-in-three chance of winning the cycling demonstration city prize. And it’s a substantial prize: £9-million of Government money earmarked specifically for cycling initiatives. Bristol is up against Manchester and Leicester. The result will be announced during Bike Week
Bike Week (14 to 22 June)
Bike Week is the nation’s celebration of cycling. All sorts of events are planned to raise the profile of cycling and to tempt more people to give it a try. Locally, there are bike rides, fun events and any number of opportunities to grab a free breakfast...
17th June
Bristol
Join a few hundred fellow cyclists for breakfast at Bristol’s Bike and Walk event on College Green, 7.30 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. Choose from fruit smoothies, continental pastries or a sizzling full English! Pick up free cycle maps from Life Cycle’s info stall.
18th June
Bath & North East Somerset
More free breakfasts in Bath (Abbey Square), Keynsham (Clock Tower café) and Radstock (Tea & Trade Tea Rooms, Church Street) between 8.00 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. Feast on a range of delicious food and drink provided by local cafés.
Weston-Super-Mare.
Victorian Café by the Grand Pier between 8.00 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. Turn up on your bike and order your free breakfast from the café's extensive menu.
South Gloucestershire
Marquee on the Avon Ring Road near the MOD roundabout between 7.30 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. Fill up on bacon rolls, pastries, croissants, cereal bars and fruit. Get your bike checked over and fixed for free by Life Cycle’s Doctor Bike.
22nd June
Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride is second only to the London to Brighton ride in terms of size. More than 4,000 people take part every year and have a fantastic time. The ride starts in central Bristol and then heads out along the Portway, specially closed to cars for the day. There’s a choice of routes including:
The Family Fiesta (9 miles) Starts at 11.00 a.m. Suitable for families with young children or people new to cycling who want to enjoy the beautiful Avon Gorge. The ride goes out along the Portway and then back to Greville Smyth Park.
The Avon Gorge Loop (13 miles) Starts at 10.30 a.m. Takes in the spectacular scenery of the Avon Gorge before turning through Shirehampton village, across Avonmouth Bridge and back to Greville Smyth Park on the riverside path.
The Failand Heights Ride (18 miles)
Starts at 10.15 a.m. Follows the Avon Gorge Loop as far as Pill. then turns through Portbury, up to Lower Failand and along country lanes to Long Ashton, through Ashton Court and back to Greville Smyth Park.
The Clevedon Challenge (38 miles)
Starts at 9.30 a.m. Follows the Failand Heights Ride as far as Portbury, along the Gordano Valley to Clevedon then through Brockley Combe, Barrow Gurney, Ashton Court and on to Greville Smyth Park.
For experienced riders there’s a more challenging ride to Chew Valley (52 miles). Initially following the Clevedon Challenge route, it joins the Avon Cycleway at Felton and follows it to Chew Valley. Then through Pensford, Compton Dando, Saltford and Warmley before returning to Bristol using the Railway Path and along the Chocolate Path to the finishing point.
You need to register for the rides. Do it online by clicking here or phone Bristol City Council on 0117 903 6701
All rides finish at Greville Smyth Park (Ashton gate) where you can collect your ride certificate, collapse on the grass and treat yourself to some delicious food and a refreshing drink. Life Cycle UK will be there running an information stall. Come on over and say hello!
Two's Company
Life Cycle UK plans and leads regular tandem rides for blind and visually impaired people. We call the project Two’s Company. In June we’ll be joining Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride (see above), one of the high spots of the cycling calendar. Anyone with a sight impairment is welcome to join us. We’ll be choosing routes suitable for all abilities from complete beginners through to more challenging distances for energetic riders! We can take riders of all ages from 8-years old upwards.
We would also like to hear from you if you're a sighted person with a tandem and some time at weekends. You might be able to join our team of volunteers. Or do you have a tandem that's no longer wanted? We could put it to good use!
For more information about Two’s Company click here.
Meet the team!
Life Cycle UK’s mission is to help more people take up cycling and we do this through a range of practical services such as cycle training, teaching bike maintenance, providing maps and information, and installing cycle parking. We also run various special projects such as tandem rides for blind and visually impaired people, and bike activities for disadvantaged youngsters.
Every month we introduce you to one of our lovely team members…
Name: Nic Gharbaoui (pictured right)
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do:
I am the Youth Programme Manager for the Bike Generation project. I co-ordinate the various activities including bike maintenance skills courses, cycling activities, and Bike Clubs. We run these at both the new Life Cycle Centre in Knowle and at various projects and clubs around Bristol. We work with a wide range of young people, but particularly with those who are socially and educationally disadvantaged.
Best thing about working for Life Cycle:
Seeing excluded young people really enjoy working with bikes and helping them link back in with a positive educational experience.
Do you do much cycling?
I haven’t driven a car for years, so I get around everywhere by bike. In my spare time, I can usually be found mountain biking out on the Timberland Trail or further afield in Wales and the Lake District.
What bike(s) do you own?
At the moment I have just the four. All mountain bikes, including my pride and joy – a Scott carbon full-suspension dream machine. I’m about to build up a single speed for fun blasts around Ashton Court and I’d also like to get a road bike for next winter.
Favourite cycle journey?
The West Highland Way in Scotland (beautiful scenery, great trails and good old fashioned pubs along the way) and through the Dades Valley in the Moroccan Anti-Atlas (breathtaking landscape and friendly locals).
Nic's top cycling tips:
1. Keep your drivetrain (chain, gears, derailleur, etc) clean and well lubricated and it will last that much longer and work so much more smoothly.
2. Respect cars and their drivers on the road and they will respect you back.
3. However tempting in summer, don’t cycle in flip-flops – grazed toes can be very, very painful – I know this only too well from my own experience!
Bike Maintenance Workshops
Life Cycle’s famous BMWs (or Bike Maintenance Workshops) have a new home. The courses now take place at the Life Cycle Centre our shiny new purpose-built bike workshop in the Knowle area of Bristol.
A BMW is aimed at people with little or no mechanical knowledge. Over a single day you'll learn how a bicycle works, how to set it up for maximum comfort, how to fix a flat tyre, adjust the brakes for maximum effectiveness and how to keep your gears changing smoothly and accurately. The course is friendly and informal and avoids the nasty technical jargon that so many people find intimidating.
Places cost £60. The fee includes all spare parts (brake blocks, cables, inner tubes, etc.) and the use of tools and a professional workstand. Plus! all participants will receive a free copy of the Haynes Bike Book, the definitive guide to cycle repair and maintenance (usual price £14.99)
Our June BMW is almost full, but we still have spaces on the July and August courses. Click here for more information.
Liberating the “cul-de-sac kids”
New research has revealed a serious “freedom gap” between the generations. The study, commissioned by the Department for Transport, reveals that parents are clamping down on the freedoms they took for granted as children, limiting when, where and how their own children cycle.
Parents typically were allowed to ride on roads from the age of ten. 35 percent of them regularly cycled to school. 56 percent of them used bikes for getting around their neighbourhood.
Today’s children on the other hand aren’t allowed out on their bikes until the age of 12. Only 18 percent of parents allow their children to cycle to school and 81 percent of parents ban their children from cycling independently, or limit their children's cycling to such a degree that Britain is seeing an emerging breed of "cul-de-sac kids" – children restricted to cycling circuits of their immediate road or neighbourhood streets.
The survey asked parents why they curtail their children’s cycling and 36 percent, perhaps not surprisingly, cited the issue of safety. They were then asked what measures might reassure them to the degree that they would allow their children to cycle on today’s roads. The most popular measure, chosen by 52 percent of parents, was high quality cycle training.
Cue Life Cycle UK. We helped create a totally new type of cycle training called Bikeability. It’s now being rolled out nationally as the 21st century successor to the old cycling proficiency test. Over the summer we’re running special courses for 8 to 11 year olds. They’ll learn how to cycle safely and skilfully – and they’ll have a great time. Courses run for two hours each day over three days.
Training begins off-road, away from traffic, but then moves onto local roads. 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 of children so everyone gets lots of attention.
At the end of the course the children are awarded certificates and we provide feedback to parents on their child's progress.
The courses run at Bristol Grammar School, Clifton on 15, 16, 17 July and 12, 13, 14 August. Places cost just £10 (rather than the usual £49) thanks to a subsidy from Bristol City Council. For more information click here.
Cycle training
It’s not just kids who benefit from cycle training. Adults too will find that cycling becomes miles easier and noticeably less intimidating after taking a professional training lesson. Book one with Life Cycle. It’ll cost £30 but if you're anything less than delighted we'll refund your fee! What have you got to lose? Phone the Life Cycle office to book your lesson or click the links below to book and pay on-line.
We offer several types of training:
Biking for beginners
A gentle introduction for people new to cycling or who are returning to it after a gap of several years. Whatever your age we can help you. Our oldest trainees have been in their 80s. We have taught people who have never ridden a bike in their lives to cycle in less than 40 minutes!
To download an information pack click here. Then, to arrange your lesson simply give us a ring or click here.
Urban cycling skills
Special advanced training for competent cyclists who want to improve their skills still further. We'll show you how to ride quickly and safely and to cope with whatever the city can throw at you! You'll discover new ways of handling big roundabouts, gyratory systems, multi-lane junctions and dual carriageways, and how to maximise the benefits of facilities such as advanced stop lines.
To download an information pack click here. Then, to arrange a training session simply give us a ring or click here.
Professional cycle training
We provide special cycle training for people who need to use a bike as part of their job. Over the years that's included Police Officers, security guards, paramedics, St John's Ambulance crew, messengers, postal workers and midwives! We'll teach you how to ride rapidly but safely on busy roads or in challenging conditions. We can set up a course anywhere in the UK. Please contact us for more information.
Cycle homes
The former Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory in Greenbank, Bristol is being redeveloped. Unusually, the developers have consulted the local community and have taken many of their ideas on board when putting together an outline plan for the site which includes proposals for a row of bike houses facing the Bristol & Bath railway path.
The radically designed homes have secure cycle parking and space for bike maintenance on the lower ground floor, and each house has access to the cycle track via a little bridge. There's space to store waterproofs, panniers, cycle helmets and other kit inside the entrance hall and there’s an adjacent shower for freshening up after a long ride.
Life Cycle’s verdict? Brilliant! Ideal homes for a cycling demonstration city! For more information click here.
Cycle parking
Our last newsletter looked at an underground cycle park in downtown Tokyo. This time we feature the cycle tree, a design that takes the opposite approach and hoists the bikes upwards away from light fingers. Perfect for the new Broadmead shopping centre (Cabot Circus) perhaps?
Alternatively, there’s the good old tried-and-tested, ground-level Sheffield stand (pictured below). Stands are available free of charge from Life Cycle UK. To find out more click here.
Donate to Life Cycle UK (and it wont cost you a penny!)
Here's an easy way to support cycling – at no cost to yourself. Simply use the Everyclick search engine. Every time you search, they make a tiny donation to Life Cycle UK. Everyclick gives half of its gross revenue to charity each month. The money is shared out amongst charities selected by the by the people who use the site to search the internet, and the amount each organisation receives depends on how many people have selected them. Everyclick.com has donated more than £350,000 to charities so far.
To start using Everyclick, you need to click here and we recommend clicking on the “add to searchbar” option in the top right-hand corner of the page. Then away you go. You’ll see the donations clock up remarkably quickly.
- Sent
- Thu, May 29th 2008, 08:54
