It is Bike Week 2015 (13th – 21st June): http://bikeweek.org.uk/

Is your school or workplace doing owt for it?

We got a letter the other day saying that on Wednesday the kids from Year 1 upwards would be welcome to ride their bikes to school (as long as they were accompanied) and that they would get a Biker’s Breakfast as a reward.

Which is.. erm.. nice an all that, but feels a bit excluding to my daughter in Reception year, who rides her bike to school three days a week in all weathers.

Moreover, it’s feels pretty indicative of the UK’s attitude to cycling that this is a special occasion, requiring a letter home with footnotes and caveats, rather than just what normally happens every day. 🙁

Meanwhile in happy happy Dutch-land:

http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2013/09/the-school-run-in-assen.html

*sigh*

Yes here in Cambridge the local builders were hurling abuse at cyclists from their vans on my commute in. Making a special effort I thought.

Nothing here

the factory admin team have sent out a cheery email to all staff, reminding us that we’re not allowed to leave things in the lockers overnight, and anything found in the lockers will be binned.

bike week my arse.

we’re not allowed to leave things in the lockers overnight

Because someone might break in to steal your spare grundies?

think our bike to work week started a couple of weeks ago, and finishes at the end of august.

We’re having a Bike Breakfast, which for some reason always happens on a day I need the car. But tbh my workplace does shitloads of bike stuff all year round, it’s really pretty awesome. Maintenance station, loan bikes (including some ebikes), cycling advise, training, maintenance classes. So the extra bike week stuff is mostly just promotion I think. All very cool.

I am helping to organise an interform bike race, although I had no idea that it was bike week. We are supposed to be a cycling hub school, but it is all about racing rather than commuting.

my 3.5yr old rode his pedal bike to pre-school for the 1st time today.

Nowt to do with bike week, we just can’t afford to wear out any more shoes on the balance bike 😆

I drove to work today (I never drive to work), for some reason my bike lock wouldn’t release my bike, hmmm, is this a Tory conspiracy??

We’ve got a local inter schools cyclocross race tomorrow.

Did not know it was Bike Week… Thought it would’ve been advertised on loads of Bike Websites and things…. 😐

In that case I shall not drive this week.
Need to get some climbing mileage in to complete my strava challenge..

Our local school make an effort throughout the year – Bike It breakfast once every term and there was a Bling your Bike event last week where kids turning up on bikes adorned with pirate tat could wear fancy dress that day.

Sustrans have Bike It officers whose job it is to encourage cycling on schools and in workplaces. if you think your employer or school could do more, contact them and ask. From experience it needs people who want something to happen to start pushing a bit.

I am helping lead this ride in Crawley Crawley family ride at the weekend, and then leading this ride (my first ride! gulp!) the week after Merstham to Redhill ride.

There are things happening out there – the point of Bike Week is to get cycle paths looking like that photo at the top of the post

TM

Sustrans have Bike It officers whose job it is to encourage cycling on schools and in workplaces. if you think your employer or school could do more, contact them and ask.

Good point! (I’m a Sustrans supporter and a Volunteer Ranger by the way 🙂 )

I wouldn’t say her school is unusually bad for cycling. They at least have secure-ish bike rack to use.

I just thought the nature of the Bike Week support was fairly indicative of the bigger picture in the UK.

nothing at our school as funding has been cut and the Bike lady has departed for somewhere nicer.
On a positive note the local bike club has extended invitation to rides to non club member so you can see what its like to ride like a pro.

Sustrans have Bike It officers whose job it is to encourage cycling on schools and in workplaces. if you think your employer or school could do more, contact them and ask.
Good point! (I’m a Sustrans supporter and a Volunteer Ranger by the way )

I wouldn’t say her school is unusually bad for cycling. They at least have secure-ish bike rack to use.

I just thought the nature of the Bike Week support was fairly indicative of the bigger picture in the UK.

Graham – good for you for being a ranger 🙂
Agree that the response does feel a bit apathetic…
The statistics from places like Copenhagen I have seen are amazing – like 50% of ALL journeys into the city being made by bike.

TM

Yep, the figures that always make me boggle (in that Hembrow article I linked to above) are:

“The extent to which Dutch children travel independently is quite extraordinary. On average across the whole country they go to school and back unaccompanied from the age of 8.6.

Primary schools are many and their catchment areas are very small. As a result, almost all children either walk or cycle. Those who live closest to the school will walk, but 49% of primary school (age 5-11) children go to school by bike.”

Compare and contrast with the UK!

Strava competition, breakfasts at head office and few prizes up for grabs. We are a bike shop though so guess we have to make the effort.

My daughter would not manage the hills between home and school… don’t underestimate the Dutch advantage.

Nothing going on here. My kid rides in (unaccompanied) every day, not sure if they are doing something at his school.

national bike week begins with national beer day.

monday is looking up.

Loads more bikes on the roads this morning in Town..

So I guess everyone knows about it 😆

will have to check school, don’t remember seeing anything, mind you, nipper is off sick at the moment so not sure he’ll make it in anyway.

At work we have C2W day once a month, usually a weds when I don’t ride, did get my free brekky the other week tho. The big bike week event is on weds when…I will be too tired for riding in. Might pop along tho. Having just checked through my emails it seems only those already signed up to the bike group got an email about bike week, bit dissappointing.

Here’s the actual letter the school sent:

Am I just being over-sensitive or is there a (possibly unintentional) undertone there that suggests being “invited” to cycle to school is a special one-off event?

In the end we spoke to the school about it, because their age restrictions meant not only did she miss out on her bacon butty but she also missed out on the basic cycle training in the playground (which she was upset about) and more importantly we felt she was being given a message that she was too young to be capable of cycling to school (Note: it is safe route, mostly on paths, with some short stretches of road along a couple quiet dead-end 20mph residential streets).