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August Events
KID'S SUMMER CYCLING SKILLS: July 29 - 31
NEW Learn to Cycle! (Age 4+ ) BOTH FULL
Tuesday 29 July 10.00 – 12.00 or Wednesday 30 July 13:00 - 15:00
This course is aimed at children who use stabilisers or cannot yet ride. Pedals (and stabilisers) will be removed from the bikes so that the children can learn to balance before they progress to pedalling. Children must be accompanied by an adult and the adults may be asked to assist.
Cycle Skills (Age 6 - 9)
Tuesday 29 July 13:00 - 15:00 or Thursday 31 at 10:00 - 12:00
Cycle skills for ages 6 -9. This course will be all off road. It is open to all abilities and will be lots of fun. Children under 8 should be accompanied by an adult.
Cycle skills (Age 10 to 13)
Wednesday 30 July 10.00 - 12.00
Cycle skills for ages 10-13. This course will be all off road. Participants will practice bike handling skills to prepare them for riding on the road. It will cover National Standards level 1 and those who pass will receive a certificate. It is open to all abilities.
On road cycle skills and bike ride! (Age 10 to 13)
Thurs 31 July 13.00 – 16.00
On road cycle skills and a bike ride for ages 10-13. Children should have completed the off road cycle skills course before taking part in this on road cycling activity. It will cover some of National Standards level 2. Please bring some money or a snack for the snack stop.
Please bring a roadworthy bike
All courses cost £5 and are held at the Salt Ayre Sports Centre
Call the Holiday Programme Booking line on 01524 842493 between 10.00am and 4.00pm (Monday to Friday) - this is for bookings over £10 only. Alternatively call in to Salt Ayre in person or book by post using an application form/cheque - www.lancaster.gov.uk.
Saturday 26 July
Pedal Power Bike Maintenance Training Level 2
10:30am - 1pm
For all Pedal Power training courses call 01524 65328.
Please note that Pedal Power run some courses on demand. If you are interested in a maintenance class or cycling skills then call them and let them know. If they have sufficient people interested in a particular course then they will try their best to schedule one at a suitable time.
Saturday August 2nd
Hearts First Bike Ride: Lancaster to York
Starts 9am at Lancaster University - £20
Push your stamina to the limit on the Ride of the Roses, a challenging 100 mile bike ride between two of the UK’s most historic and vibrant cities.
Setting off from Lancaster University, hundreds of riders will head out across the varied and breathtaking landscapes of Northern England, including the stunning Trough of Bowland, an ‘area of outstanding natural beauty’, Gisburn Forest and the rugged unspoilt scenery of the Yorkshire Dales.
With the majority of the route taking place on rural roads, you’ll face some steep gradients and challenging hill climbs before heading through the market town of Ripon in the heart of North Yorkshire then onto the final leg towards the finishing point in the beautiful city of York. Transport available to book. www.bhf.org.uk/roses
Sunday August 3rd
Women on Wheels to Halton
The penultimate women on wheels for 2008 is a slightly more demanding ride, but correspondingly rewarding, taking in historic villages, lush countryside, expansive hilltop views, a secret valley and the vast spaces of Morecambe Bay. It does include sections of other rides, but a good half of the distance is quite independent.
Meet at the Millennium Bridge at 11am.
Sunday August 10th
Ride from Lancaster to the RSPB Summer Fair at Leighton Moss.
Starting at the Millennium Bridge this ride follows the National Cycle Routes 6 and 9 via Ryelands Park, quiet roads and the Lancaster Canal.
Summer Fair (9-10th) Lots of activities,stalls to browse. Cyclists on this ride get in for free (normal admission £1). More information at www.rspb.org.uk
Sat 23rd - Sat 30th August
Bicycology: Routes To Solutions, Lancaster & Morecambe
Routes to Solutions is a week long festival of Cycling and Sustainability. From practical skills-training to entertaining and informative Film Nights and Workshops, we hope there’s something for everyone. All our events are free, so give us a call or email, get on your bike and get involved!
We want to share experiences, and exchange views on how best to promote cycling in a car centric world. So if you’ve got ideas, we want you to come and share them with us
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Film night 'Take the Power Back' , Gregson Community and Arts Centre, Saturday 23rd August, 8.00 pm
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Bike Ride 1, Lancaster to Morecambe, Sunday 24th August, 10.00 am
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Pedal on the Prom, Morecambe Promenade, Sunday 24th August, 12.00 - 5.00 pm
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Bike Ride 2 , Morecambe to Lancaster, Sunday 24th August, 10.00 am
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Pedal in the Park, Williamson Park, Monday 25th August, 12.00 - 5.00 pm
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Cycling Question Time, Lancaster Town Library, Tuesday 26th August. 7.30 - 9.30 pm
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Food for Thought, Friends Meeting House, Wednesday 27th August
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Climate Change & You. Is individual action the way forward?, Lancaster Town Library, Wednesday 27th August 7.30 - 9.30 pm
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PLANET BIKE, Lancaster Junior Library, Thursday 28th August, 10.00 am - 12.00 pm
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Bike Fixing For Kids 1 , Ridge Community Centre, Thursday 28th August, 10.00 am - 12.00 pm
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Bike Control Skills, Games And Tricks 1 , Ridge Community Centre, Thursday 28th August , 1.00 - 3.00 pm
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Remake the Media, Lancaster Steiner School, Thursday 28th August 2.00 - 5.00 pm
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Film Night 'Running on Empty' , Dukes Cinema, Thursday 28th August, 7.30 pm
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Bike Control Skills, Games And Tricks 2 , Skerton Community Centre, Friday 29th August, 1.00 - 3.00 pm
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Fancy Dress your Bike!, The Basement, Friday 29th August. 12.00 - 4.30 pm
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Critical Mass, Dalton Square, Friday 29th August, Meet at 6.00 pm
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Advanced Bike Maintenance, Ridge Community Centre, Saturday 30th August, 10.00 am - 4.00 pm
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The Psychology of Rain, Sweat and Hills, Meet at Green Ayre Skate Park, Saturday 30th August. 2.00 pm
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Film Night 'Pedalling for the Planet', Dukes Cinema, Saturday 30th August, 7.30 pm
For full details of all these events go to www.bicycology.org.uk/events/routes_events.htm.
Contact / Booking Information: info@bicycology.org.uk or 01524 383012 (leave a message). We’ll get back to you to answer any questions or confirm a place on a workshop.
WOMEN & CYCLING SURVEY SUMMARY
We received 350 responses to our recent survey. See below for a summary - full results will be available on the celebrating cycling website shortly.
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79% of respondents owned a bike (or had one available to them)
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86% of respondents are aged between 18 - 59
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A quarter have children under the age of 16
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20% said cycling was their main mode of transport - 51% said that the car (as driver) was their main mode
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40% cycle at least weekly, while 8% never cycle
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27% regularly cycle to work
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2% regularly take children to school, while a further 9% do so occasionally or would consider doing so
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62% were confident or average cyclists; 33% were not confident and 4% could not cycle
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The 5 main advantage of cycling were: physical health (97%), environmentally friendly (85%), low cost (82%), being outdoors (77%) and mental health (65%).
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The 5 main disadvantages were: weather (77%), road safety (74%), carrying loads (63%), personal safety (49%) and bike security (43%)
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57% expressed an interest in maintenance training, 40% in on road cycle training and 29% in off road training
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83% of respondents were possibly interested in cycling more
Look out for news of forthcoming events.
BIKE TO WORK DAY
Bike to Work Day Company Challenge winners announced!
Congratulations to First Subsea (based on New Quay Road) for winning the category for the best idea for cycle funding (combined with a very high percentage of staff cycling to work) and to the Geography Department at Lancaster University who won the highest percentage of cyclists with 28%.
First Subsea are planning to use their prize of cycle funding for secure cycle storage, while the Geography Dept will soon be receiving equipment to help staff fix and maintain bikes - so they are not stuck at work with a flat tyre!
Goody bags have also been rewarded to 5 lucky entrants, so if you took part in the company challenge check your email to see if you were one of 185 registered cyclists to win!
Finally thanks to everyone who still took part despite the heavy rain!
OTHER NEWS / EVENTS
Cycling the answer to rising fuel costs
Lancaster with Morecambe is a Cycling Demonstration Town put simply that means the Council were given money by Cycling England and the Department for Transport to increase cycling levels in the district.
Workplaces can benefit from:
- Advice and information about local routes, equipment and
- Information on appropriate measures to increase workplace cycling levels
- Free / Low cost parking
- Information on setting up a Bicycle User Group (BUG)
- Workplace Cycle Training & Bike Buddies
- Maps, route guides and other leaflets
Please check out our website at www.celebratingcycling.org to find out about everything cycling from local shops and bike hire to events and new routes.
Life in the World's Cycling Capital
An interesting site if only for the hundreds of normal people cycling in normal clothes, with umbrellas, dogs, leg casts
See also www.copenhagencyclechic.com
Preston Sports Arena invite you to enter their “1 LAP CYCLING CHALLENGE”
Adults £1
Children (U16) 50p
To enter each cyclist sets their personal lap time on the 1.5 km cycle track. A league table will show all riders and their times with prizes for best improvements, most laps attempted and fastest times.
Laps will be timed at the following sessions:
Sundays 9.00am – 11.00am
Mondays 5.30pm – 7.30pm
Wednesdays 4.00pm – 6.00pm
Come along and test your cycle skills and aim to improve your time each week. Challenge ends 31 August.
National Cycle Network News
As the rise in fuel prices continues unabated sustainable transport charity Sustrans announces its latest count of people using the National Cycle Network for walking and cycling trips. The statistics, compiled in The National Cycle Network Route User Monitoring Report to end of 2007, show that an increasing number are turning to alternative forms of getting around. Over 354 million trips were made on the Network in 2007, an increase of 4.7 per cent on the previous year.
Those trips, which are equally split between walkers and cyclists, represent massive savings in petrol bills. If all the journeys on the Network had been made by car some 232 million litres of fuel would have been consumed, at a cost of £269 million (based on June ‘08 prices). The potential carbon dioxide saving of 450,000 tonnes of CO2 is the equivalent of taking almost 200,000 cars off the road, around 8 per cent of new cars sold in 2007.
With more and more people finding it increasingly expensive to maintain and run a car (amongst the poorest fifth of households who do own cars spend nearly a quarter of their income on the cost of motoring) the National Cycle Network is getting people around – 14 per cent of all journeys were made by people without access to a car.
And the Network now passes within a mile of 55 per cent of people living in the UK, giving more and more people the chance to exercise as part of their everyday lives. Over three quarters of all users say that having the Network in their community has helped them to increase the amount of physical activity they regularly take.
Malcolm Shepherd, Sustrans CEO is pleased to see the increasing number of trips made: “Despite 2007's wet summer this is the eighth year in succession that usage has risen and with around one in ten cyclists on the Network being new or returning to cycling it shows that the UK's appetite for healthy, environmentally responsible travel is increasing. We are delighted that people are using the routes for all sorts of reasons, from taking the children to school, to getting to work, to enjoying their leisure time.
“The Network is a crucial part of the UK transport system, during 2007 it carried nearly a third of the journeys made on our well-funded rail network. Yet, other than in Scotland, Sustrans receives no direct funding from central government transport departments for the Network. As obesity spirals out of control and greenhouse gas emissions from transport continue to rise we urgently need to move towards a sustainable transport system. And we will only be able to do that when tried and tested solutions that provide the right environment for walking and cycling - like the National Cycle Network - become integral to transport policy and are funded accordingly.”
Bike4Bike
On Thursday 21st August 2008, Ian Johnston will start his cycle tour of EVERY stage of the 2008 Tour de France cycle race (not whilst the main event is on!). That’s an incredible 3,558 kilometres or 2,223 miles, over 19 high mountain passes through the Pyrenees and the Alps! Yes, that’s an average 100 miles a day starting from Brest in Brittany to Paris in 21 days!
Ian wants your support to raise £11,000 to fund two very special bicycles that will enable disabled children from Alexandra House in Lancaster, to experience the joys of cycling - speed and the feel of the wind in their faces, as they are pedalled by an able bodied cyclist.
For more information, to view the route or to donate please visit www.bike4bike.org.uk