Month: December 2016

Curious what lessons can be learned from 70,000 new, occasional, and regular riders from across the UK?

We’ve surveyed more than 70,000 people in the UK and asked them what barriers they face to cycling and to cycling to work. The findings have been very interesting as we compare responses from the many different UK regions we’ve worked in over the years.

We are sharing some of the core research lessons in a series of webinars over the next few months.

This first webinar will discuss barriers, motivations, and demographics. It will provide interesting insights to anyone working in cycling promotion and/or transport planning.

There will be a 25 minute presentation followed by Q and A. Tune in for the first 30 minutes or stay for the whole hour.

 

To makes sure as many people as possible can attend, we have two dates available:

Friday 16 December – 2pm – Register

Thursday 12 January – 2pm – Register

 

We are excited to share these insights with you and your colleagues. So please do invite your colleagues to also attend this free and insightful webinar.

 

Share this free webinar

Copy and send this link:

http://blog.lovetoride.net/blog/2016/12/07/webinar-lessons-from-70000-riders/

200 Years ago…

In 1817, the first verifiable bicycle was born. In 2017, we’re celebrating the 200th birthday of the bicycle with the ‘Year of the Bike’. In participating regions, a calendar of events aimed at both celebrating and encouraging cycling will be run throughout the year.

We are looking for local partners who want to utilise the opportunity that the Year of the Bike brings to help achieve their local cycling goals.

 

Aims

The key aims of the Year of the Bike are:

• Encourage more people to rediscover the benefits of riding
• Encourage people to ride more often and for transportation
• Provide regions with quality behaviour change programmes at the local level
• Be effective at achieving behaviour change through cost-efficient programmes
• Collate and share rich data to help inform local developments

 

GPS data

As well as encouraging more people to ride, more often and for transportation, we’ll also be collecting useful GPS data on where people are riding in your city to help inform your future infrastructure plans.

Learn more here

 

Rolling throughout the year

The Year of the Bike includes a year-round rolling programme of activity and engagement. We have four major campaigns spaced equally at one every quarter.

March
Ride to Work Week: The main aim is to encourage more people to realise the benefits of riding to work. This is a fun competition between organisations and people to see who can ride to work the most during the week. There are also incentives for encouraging new people to try riding to work as well.

June
Bike Week: To kickstart the summer of cycling, we focus on encouraging people to ride and attend local Bike Week events. Another key aim is to encourage existing riders to invite new riders out for a ride and/or to a Bike Week event.

September
Cycle September: This UK-wide event is for everyone, everywhere in funded and non-funded areas. Ride and encourage others to do the same. Compete for fun against other organisations locally and nationally. Great team and individual prizes up for grabs. Which of local employers will take the top spots?

December
Winter Wheelers – Advent Calendar: As the nights draw in and the cold starts to bite, Winter Wheelers supports people to ride in winter with top tips and an advent calendar’s worth of daily prizes, including bikes and seasonal cycling gear!

Funding and Budgets

We recognise that some areas have more funding available than others for getting more people riding bikes. We have, therefore, created a menu of options which give you the ability to choose the Year of the Bike campaign elements that fit within you budget and best compliment your existing planned cycling activities. Please contact us to look at your options.

Want to find out more?

To understand how to bring the Year of the Bike into your area to give cycling a local boost – whatever your budget – get in touch with Sam by phone on 07734833451 or email sam@lovetoride.org.

Ever wondered how we change behaviour? This fun 2 minute animation explains all…

 

Winter is upon us and cold weather and shorter daylight hours can make getting on your bike seem a bit trickier. But with the right approach and some basic equipment, riding in winter can be fun – and incredibly rewarding. Here are some top tips to keep you pedalling through deepest, darkest December.

Wrap up warm (and dry!)

A windproof and waterproof jacket, overtrousers and gloves will keep your body and hands toasty. Multitubes help keep the cold air off your neck and ears and if you’re riding a long distance and get cold feet, overshoes will keep the draught out.

 

Be safe, be seen

A good set of lights will help you to see and be seen and are essential for commuting through the shortest days of winter – check out Exposure’s brilliant, British-made lights here. It’s also a good idea to be as highly visible as possible to other road users. Proviz make amazing hi-viz gear and happen to have a healthy discount just now…

 
Give your bike some TLC

Book a service to make sure everything’s working as it should (find your local bike shop here if you’re logged into the site) and consider fitting some mudguards to prevent getting surface water and mud all over yourself and your fellow commuters.
The salt and water you kick up when cycling in winter are bad for your bike, so it’s a good idea to give it a clean as often as possible, with a degreaser to dislodge moisture and gunk from moving parts where necessary. Wet weather chain oil is also a good call to keep you running smoothly through nasty weather.
 

Enjoy it!

If you’re well prepared, riding into work on a crisp winter morning or battling through rain and cold on the way home can be invigorating, exciting and rewarding. Plus you’ll reap all the brilliant benefits of biking right through the winter and arrive in spring feeling fitter and healthier than ever!
 

 
Finally, bag yourself some amazing winter riding gear – or even a brand new Raleigh bike – by logging your trips with Love to Ride! We’re running a Winter Wheelers Advent Calendar, with great prizes being given away every day from December 1 up to and including Christmas Day.

 
Massive thanks to our fantastic winter sponsors, Raleigh, Proviz and Exposure Lights.