Bristol Bike Festival 7th - 15th July 2012
Jul
01
With Bradley Wiggins flying the flag in the Tour de France and the track cycling team preparing to defend their haul of gold medals at this year’s Olympics, the popularity of cycling in the UK continues its upward trend. Bike sales have increased year on year as people of all shapes, sizes and ages take to the road en masse.
Officially recognised as the country’s first cycling city in 2008, Bristol is at the forefront of the UK cycling boom and has a vibrant and active cycling community.
From 7 to 15 July the city will play host to the Bristol Cycle Festival - a celebration of cycling held at various venues and locations across Bristol city centre. The festival, now in its third year, offers a week-long programme of events which includes family rides, city bike tours, talks and lectures, cycle-in outdoor cinema and bicycle speed dating.
Beyond celebrating all things two-wheeled, the festival also has a social mission. Antony de Heveningham, one of the festival organisers, said "this year we'll be doing more than ever to break down the barriers to cycling." There will be organised ‘Bike Trains’ through the main routes in Bristol to escort those new to commuting by bike and build their confidence. Festival-goers will also have the opportunity the buy a refurbished bike or have theirs fixed for free at the Festival Hub on College Green.
The Festival concludes on Sunday 15 July with a ‘Big Bike Spectacular’ held at the Big Top next to Temple Meads station. It will be the first large-scale outdoor event to make use of the new Creative Common space. There will be cycling-related games and entertainment for all ages throughout the day and a chance to take part in the ‘Carnivelo’ – the UK’s only bicycle carnival.
More information can be found at www.bristolcyclefestival.com
Notes:
1. A full programme for the week can be found here
2. In 2008 Greater Bristol was chosen as England's first Cycling City and received £11m from the Department for Transport to transform cycling
3. The Festival’s talk series includes:
- Tommy Godwin, 1948 Cycling Olympic medallist
- John Grimshaw, founder of Sustrans
- Pete Shadbolt, quantum physicist at University of Bristol and cycling enthusiast
- Dr Ian Walker, cycle safety expert