Wednesday 25 July 2012

Edinburgh Skyride - Saturday 8 September - Cycling for Fun!

Edinburgh is holding a SkyRide event on Saturday 8 September - join hundreds if not thousands of others for some family-friendly cycling.
 
Open to all.  Everyday bikes and everyday clothing welcome!  (You can hire a bike if you don’t have one.)
 
Final details of the roads to be cleared of cars will be revealed on the SkyRide website (below) but in total are expected to be over 8km in length, centred around Holyrood Park.  The roads will be free of motor traffic from 10-4, and people of any age can come along and try cycling in a traffic free environment throughout that period.  You can come and you can leave at any time and at any of the official locations – or anywhere you like on the route!  Prizes too!

There will be entertainment and stalls at the start/end of the route (near the Parliament) and at key locations along the route.  Stalls will include bike-related, e.g. Dr Bike, bike shops, hopefully a Spokes stall, etc; but there will also be plenty more general entertainment.

See http://www.goskyride.com/EdinburghSkyRide for more info, and to register your interest.   See also www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/2012/07/edinburgh-skyride-8-september/ for updates.

Sunday 22 July 2012

Summer Competition - Favourite Places by Bike

Every year Spokes (the Lothian Cycle Campaign) runs a summer competition, open to everyone interested in cycling (all ages).

This year’s one has the theme "My Favourite Place by Bike" - which ties in nicely with WeansOnWheels' aim to put together a collection of nice rides for families and others to do (see the 'Routes' page).


Spokes wants to know where you love to go, or be at, or pass through, with your bike.   It must be somewhere or something you can do, visit or experience in Edinburgh or the Lothians.  It could be a downhill swoop, a picnic spot, somewhere with a lovely smell, a cafe, something unusual, maybe something more abstract, or doubtless loads of other things.

Great prizes! - including a ScotRail 1st-class return for 2 between any 2 Scottish stations;  and prizes from Edinburgh Bicycle,  Kalpna Indian Vegetarian Restaurant, Camera Obscura & World of Illusions, Scottish Seabird Centre, Sustrans, Peter’s Yard, Velo Ecosse, Reiss Hairsalon and [to be confirmed] the Bridge Inn at Ratho.  

The competition closes on 9 September so you’ve plenty time to work up a really excellent entry and win a top prize.    Details of how to enter and where to send entries are on the Spokes website.

Children Are the Future of Cycling

Some summer reading!

1 - an article that appeared in the Guardian article on "Reclaiming the Streets for Kids": two Bristol mothers decided it was time to banish traffic from their road and replace it with scooters, skateboards, hopscotch and bikes. 



..... Let us know if you get something similar going in your area.....


2- "Children are the Future of Cycling"  article by John Pucher (eminent cycling researcher) on the European Cycling Federation website, see

Now on Twitter

You can now follow this blog on Twitter - @WeansOnWheels.