Sunday 27 January 2013

Spring is on the Way - Get Ready!

With the winter cold and darkness, Weans on Wheels has been in hibernation for the past wee while, so a very belated 'Happy New Year' to everyone.  May 2013 bring you and yours many happy miles of cycling!

Now daylight is returning, cycle-commuting to school is much more feasible again as we can get home before darkness. So, decent gloves and thick socks at the ready for tomorrow.  A buff round the neck and ears helps with keeping warm too. [If you haven't already seen them, check out the Spokes ones for a cycling map you can wear! Contact Spokes to purchase.]  And don't forget bike cleaning kit and oil: the salt on the roads can turn chains bright orange with rust pretty quickly, so clean them off after use - and check bikes that haven't been used in a while to make sure they're ready to go. 

Yes: definitely time to get properly back into cycling now.  Advance notice of some diary dates for later this year:

(1) The Sustrans Big Pedal 2013 - a massive cycle- and scoot- to school event, running between 28 Feb - 30 March. See http://bigpedal.org.uk/ for more details.  Could your school take part??  Superhero fundraising day to get things started on 28 Feb!

(2) the campaign group Pedal on Parliament (www.cycling-edinburgh.org.uk) are holding a second mass-cycling event in Edinburgh on Saturday 18 May - a repeat of last year's highly successful family-friendly event, in which 3,000 cyclists gathered to demonstrate to politicians the scale of demand for safer roads and better facilities. The ride will start at the Meadows and will end at Holyrood.

(3) an Edinburgh Festival of Cycling is planned for 15-23 June, which is National Bike Week,  For more information see http://edfoc.wordpress.com/ .

In the meantime, Weans on Wheels is aiming to develop the younger wean's road sense, with a view to more independent cycling this summer, and get the older wean's stamina back up after a bit of a break.  The odd half hour or so here and there practising on quiet roads as well as local trips by bike will hopefully pay off come spring weather for long rides.

And for parents: if you're looking for social cycling and ideas for routes, there are other opportunities to get your legs moving again.  The Cycling-Edinburgh website - http://www.cycling-edinburgh.org.uk/ - provides an up-to-date listing of all organised cycle rides in or near the Scottish capital. These rides are run by local cycling clubs and groups, and are mostly free of charge and open to all.

Two points to note if you're interested in taking children out with you on these rides:
1. EasyCycle will now accept children of any age on their rides (previously, they had a minimum age of 16). Obviously, children would have to be accompanied by a responsible adult. The next EasyCycle ride is on Sat 23 February, and they will be once a month thereafter.

2. The 'Edinburgh 20-Milers' group has said that tag-alongs and child seats would be fine on most of their rides. They occasionally use rough paths where there might be some difficulties, but these shouldn't be insurmountable. Rides take place on the second Saturday of the month, throughout the year.

For further details on rides see www.cycling-edinburgh.org.uk.

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