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BIKE WEEK 2003

HFCyclists seek volunteers for planning and organising local events.

HFCyclists are planning two events: a barbecue on the beach in front of the Royal Festival Hall, South Bank Centre (on Saturday 14 June 2003, probably 8pm) and an event in Bishops Park, Fulham (Sunday 22 June 2003, 10am to 8pm, core time 12noon to 5pm).
   


The last one will be a show case / involvement day for groups involved with the environment / river in West London.

According to John Griffiths, from HFCyclists, there will be a mass picnic with a peaceful music-making atmosphere. There may also be contributions of a cultural nature.

The present working title is West London Green Festival, but organiser are looking for a better name and welcome suggestions. "Midsummer Free" is one suggestion, along with "Solstice Green".

The planning is in its opening stage. If any group would like to be involved in the event please contact John Griffiths (phone: 020 7371 1290).

The Council, according to HFCyclists, will probably be organising a bike-to-work breakfast as they have done in previous years.

Five promotional themes have been announced for this year's UK-wide Bike Week:

· Buying or hiring a bike - getting a bike back on the road
· Learning to ride - cycling with a 'buddy' - where to ride?
· Family fun and fitness - encouraging more women to cycle
· Bike2Work - individually or as part of an organised ride
· Get off the beaten track - go cycling in the countryside.

Bike2Work will run for the whole week, with

   
New cycling programmes

Two residential centres for young people in the borough have won funding for a new cycling programme.

The Dalling Road and North Eyot Gardens centres in Hammersmith have won £6300 in funding to buy bikes and safety equipment. The idea came from centre workers Dominic Jones and Nova Levine who were lending their bikes to children and teenagers at the centre.

The project aims to enable young people to have access to either a mountain bike or BMX, recognised road safety training, cycle maintenance training and all necessary cycling equipment on a loan basis.

The cycling programme has been made possible by a funding award from the Peabody Trust. Cycick cycle community workshop, a voluntary organisation devoted to recycling bicycles to increase ownership in the LBHF, is providing the bicycles and safety equipment and will also be responsible for their upkeep. Cycick's other projects include providing pool bicycles for organisations, companies and individuals.
 
 

participants requested to donate the money they save (eg: fuel and parking or fares) to Cancer Research UK (Registered Charity No. 1089464). 500 major employers are being encouraged to promote cycling to work and existing workplace bicycle user groups (BUGs) will be helped to recruit new members.

Bike Week's main funder is the Department for Transport, where transport minister John Spellar has requested more events that appeal to novice cyclists, especially women and families.

In 2002, approximately 50% of the estimated 200,000 participants in Bike Week events were new or returning cyclists. Of the 20+ million bikes owned in the UK, less than a third are used regularly.


HFCyclists Web site

Bike Week Web site
Related links
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Bike Week is the UK's only annual nationwide campaign to increase participation in organised cycling, to encourage one-time cyclists to return to the road, and to promote nationally the wider social and environmental benefits of more people cycling to work.

This year's national Bike Week (14th-22nd June) is, once again, only possible thanks to the efforts of local event organisers, many of whom are volunteers.