Free weekly rides take place on a Sunday and are led by a trained local leader who can help and encourage riders of all ages and abilities. Rides are at four different levels so there is something for everyone. Rides are taking places until 30 October.

The Sky Ride Local rides are part of a national campaign including free events, activities, information and support to help and inspire people of all ages and abilities re-discover the fun of bike riding and get 1 million people cycling regularly by 2013. Birmingham City Council is a Sky Ride campaign partner.

Dawn Rahman, British Cycling Recreation Manager said; ‘If you fancy a fun, free, relaxed afternoon out with your friends and family, you can’t beat a social bike ride. We’ve planned some of the best routes around, like Le Tour de Birmingham –including the Jewellry Quarter, Paradise Forum and Cannon Hill Park, or you could try The Chocolate Trail taking in some lovely parks and Bournville the chocolate capital of Engalnd. It’s great to see a bit of Birmingham from the saddle. And if you’ve not been on a bike for a while the friendly Ride Leaders are here to help and support you.’

Sky Ride 2011 is backed by a line-up of celebrities and pro-cyclists including Sir Chris Hoy,  X Factor Winner Alexandra Burke, Presenter Lorraine Kelly, TV Star Gethin Jones and TV personality Jeff Brazier.

To register for a free ride in Birmingham, visit: www.goskyride.com/birmingham

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Bike Rides For Women Are Now A Breeze

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The ethos of Breeze rides are all about fun, local bike rides for women, plus a whole range of support, training and ride opportunities too.

Breeze rides are for women, led by other women and aims to create an informal and relaxed environment where women can ride with other likeminded people – plus kids are welcome too on some of the rides. The best thing about Breeze is that you don’t have to be mega fit to take part, rides vary from 2-3 mile rides in a traffic free environment where there will also be an opportunity to take a comfort break and chance for a breather! For those women who want something a bit more challenging there are also opportunities for longer rides too.

Solihull in the West Midlands currently has a great team of champions (see pictures), who give up their time for free to lead out rides in and around Solihull and Birmingham. If you are interested in going along on one of these rides then check out www.breezebikerides.com  Rides are also held in other parts of the country so you can also check if there are any near where you live.

If you think you would be interested in becoming a champion and leading out rides then there are currently some courses taking place – anyone who signs up will be given full support, free British Cycling membership and some fabulous kit to wear! Check out their website for more info.

And for those of you who aren’t women and are feeling left out don’t worry! There is a similar initiative for everyone who wants to take part in local led bike rides with weekly led rides in many parts of the country. For more information check out www.goskyride.com

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We love Cycling

The new additions to RAW’s range are made in California by new bike builders Masuelli, and locally grown bamboo (considered a weed in California!) is used to build the frames. The bikes are built as single speed City or Track bikes, with the extra options of a fixed or coaster wheelset. The ‘All Black’ track bike is £1200, with colour custom builds starting from £1500.

These bikes are built to order – including the colour of the fibreglass lugs, coloured seat posts, bars, wheelsets etc, and give the customer the chance to completely custom build their bike. The build up can include a high spec internal geared system, hydraulic brakes, or simple fixed gear.

The bamboo is joined with fibreglass, which gives a clean and natural look, but dyes can be added in any colour to match the parts of the rest of the bike, or to create a multi coloured bike! The customer can even have their name on the frame.

RAW are based in the North of England (Manchester), and the bikes are available to test ride on request. To visit their website click here.

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Cycle Rickshaws

Winning Entry

In order to promote cycling to ladies in Lambeth and to show that cycling can be cool and chic, the people at Lambeth Council ran a photography competition last summer to find the best photos of female cyclists in the area. They were inundated with some fabulous photos and were so pleased with the results they decided to create a calendar using some of the best entries.

To win a calendar all you need to do is complete the phrase, “I love cycling because……”  in less than 25 words. The competition is open to all cyclists male or female in the U.K.  Email your phrase to kate@greenfinder.co.uk before January 28th with the chance to win one of the five calendars on offer.

To learn more about the Bicycle belles competitionwhich was held last year please visit the Lambeth Council website. For more information about  sustainable transport please visit our green transport category.

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Be Safe, Be Seen, Be Green (eco friendly cycling accessories)

Bikebins are a new kind of pannier for the bicycle, made of plastic they are rigid, lockable and strong. They fit easily onto standard rear pannier racks, using the same attachment system as conventional quality pannier makers. However, unlike traditional canvas panniers, the Bikebin protects its contents from rain, impact and theft, and has a touch of real style! The Bikebin provides a convenient and realistic way to carry almost all your everyday requirements on your bike. It can change your whole approach to local commuting and everyday travel – good for the environment, a healthier and more sociable lifestyle for everyone.

The idea of the Bikebin came from the experience of a once-in-a-lifetime journey In April 2005 when a 56 year old British man, Sam Lowings, left his 2 sons, friends and home, to set out to realise the ambition of his life; to cycle from Exeter in Devon, UK, to Vladivostok on the eastern coast of Russia. Cycling the 14,000kms would have been an achievement in itself, but Sam was determined to be as self-sufficient as possible on the journey. This meant taking all the requirements for the trip with him on his bicycle! Clothes, food, camping equipment, a few tools for the bicycle and his only luxury, a short wave radio, all had to be accommodated. Sam, his bike and the canvas panniers were tested by extremes of terrain, weather and potentially hostile environments.

Sam arrived in Vladivostok after 5 months, 2 stone lighter, with a bike in need of some minor repairs and frustrated by panniers that had to be removed at every turn for security, left him with sodden clothing after rain and fell over spewing their contents into mud and the loss of personal valuables. Sam knew there had to be an alternative – this was the beginning of the Bikebin! The Bikebin is produced exclusively in the UK using British technology, designers and manufacturers, and cannot be found in the mass-market High Street outlets. It has been tested against extremes of temperature and for durability and has proved its robustness under adverse conditions.

For more information please visit the Bike Bins website

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Green Cycling Accessories

The Bicycle Belles Exhibition

The exhibition will be held at a location on the South Bank in London on Thursday 18th September between 7-10pm. The Council are keen to have women attend who are thinking about taking up cycling but not yet made the switch. If you are interested in attending this event then please contact cycling@lambeth.gov.uk

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More ‘we love cycling’ stories

For a truly sustainable travel network within the U.K it is vital that trains cater for cyclists on all routes. We hope you agree and sign the petition. At present over 600 people have showed their support and signed their names in agreement.

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Bicycle Belles

In order to promote cycling to ladies in the London borough of Lambeth and to show that cycling can be cool and chic, Lambeth council have decided to organise the bicycle belles competition.

There are hundreds of women cycling through and around Lambeth every day and the numbers are increasing. As it is no longer the domain of the lycra clad middle class male, they are looking for images that portray the diversity of women and their bikes. So please send them your photographs of women cycling in and around the borough.

The competition is open to all ages who live, work or study in Lambeth and the best photographs will be a part of an exhibition to be held in September 2008. Prizes will include a bicycle, accessories and of course seeing your work exhibited. For more information about the competition please visit www.lambeth.gov.uk/bicyclebelles

For those of you not living or working in Lambeth like ourselves there is no need to feel left out. We have discovered a fab website called cyclechic where you can upload photos of yourself cycling and looking glam on their facebook group. So what are you waiting for ……on yer bikes!

Related links you may be interested in….

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Truly Alternative Transport

How to green your cycle ride

Cycle Dancing

Green Oil Bicycle Chain Lubricant

Integral to ECOutlet’s range of environmentally friendly products, the online eco store has recently expanded their range of bicycle accessories to help cyclists increase their green credentials in time for the summer cycling season. To keep everything running smothly, Green Oil is a new high performance bicycle chain lubricant made from naturally occurring plant extracts. Green Oil’s formulation of long-chain molecules repels water molecules protecting the chain from from rust and helps give a smooth, low friction ride. Unlike standard bicycle chain oils, Green Oil does not contain any petrochemical components or Teflon and subsequently is not irritant, hazardous or harmful to the environment.

Reelight Battery Free Bicycle Lights

The arrival of summer means longer, brighter evenings and the latest addition to ECOutlet’s battery-free bicycle lights means cyclists need no longer worry about being caught out without lights. Reelight bicycle lights do not use batteries but produce their own green energy using magnets attached to the spokes of the wheel. The lights are permanently mounted on the side of the bicycle and are always on, day and night, constantly flashing. Just as important there are no batteries to buy or throw away when used. Two versions of the Reelight dynamo bike lights are available to purchase, the Reelight SL100 UK Standard which flash constantly when the bike is in motion and the Reelight SL120 UK Standard which flash whenever the bike is in motion and continue to flash for two minutes after the bicycle has stopped.

Bicycle Clips made from recycled inner tubes

The company has also recently branched out into producing their first in-house product when cyclist and one-half of ECOutlet, Marco Puig, set about the task of designing a pair of trouser bicycle clips made from recycled materials. After a period of trial and error, a simple yet effective design of trouser clip was created using recycled bicycle inner tubes which had been donated by his local bicycle shop.

The recycled bicycle clips help enable a safer ride whilst protecting trouser cuffs from rips and stains as a result of contact with the bicycle chain. Practical and effective, the bicycle clips are also an innovative solution to the problem of disposing of bicycle inner tubes which are not routinely recycled. Each pair is approximately 29.5cm long and the elastic nature of the material means one size fits all.

For more information please visit the Ecoutlet’s cycling range.

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The Spokes perform at various events in the Manchester area and hope to encourage others to get on their bikes and cycle more because as a mode of transport it is safer, more sociable, more rewarding, more fun, less damaging to ourselves and the people and environment around us than our massive car culture.

We think they are spot on….what better way to encourage people to get on their bikes than a bit of cycle dance!

Check them out at myspace.com/thespokesmcr

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