Bike Week

Tuesday 14 June 2011

We are having a Bike to School Week starting Monday 20 June.

Team Green Britain Bike Week, the UK’s biggest mass participation cycling event, takes place 18-26 June; last year almost half a million people participated at events across the country. The aim is to get more people cycling, more often – from families, schools and companies, to seasoned cyclists and those who have never cycled before.

It's an annual opportunity to promote cycling, and show how cycling can easily be part of everyday life by making ‘everyday cycling for everyone’. Demonstrating the social, health and environmental benefits of cycling, the week aims to get people to give cycling a go all over the UK, whether this be for fun, as a means of getting around to the local shops, school, the library or just to visit friends.

Bike security

On Tuesday 21 June the police will be coming in to school to postcode bikes and give away free padlocks to people with bikes. Protect your bike with free postcode marking. A postcode marked bicycle is more difficult for a thief to sell on and is much less likely to get stolen. If it does get stolen and the police find it, they can get it returned to you much easier.

Cycle to School

We'd like to see an increase in people cycling to school - whether you are a pupil or a member of staff. The route in and out of school is by the access road and NOT through the College. Secondly, you should not be riding your bikes once you reach the school gates – you should dismount at the gates. When going out of school, you should not mount the bikes until you reach the school gates. Remember, there should be no cycling on site.

Cycling safely

You need to be highly visible. Don't give motorists the excuse that they didn't see you. Many motorists just aren't aware of cyclists. You can make a huge contribution to your own safety when cycling by A. Being seen by motorists and B. Doing all you can to avoid them. There's an article on Winter Cycling on our intranet which has good advice on safety.

General Links:

• Bike Week

Local Cycling Links:

• Sustrans - Gloucestershire
• Gloucestershire County Council - Cycling
• Cotswold District Council - Cycling
• cycle-route.com - Gloucestershire
• bikehub.co.uk has good cycle route finder

Sport Links:

• BBC Sport Cycling
• British Cycling
• Tour de France
• London 2012 - Cycling BMX
• London 2012 - Cycling Mountain Bike
• London 2012 - Cycling Road
• London 2012 - Cycling Track