Cycling UK East Midlands Region
Welcome to the Summer edition of our seasonal newsletter.
One of our aims is to liaise with member and affiliated groups and other groups promoting cycling in all its aspects across the East Midlands Region. This newsletter should give a flavour of the huge number and wide range of activities happening this Summer across the region and to help promote events such as organised rides, rallies and fundraising events for charity.
Funded by the Department for Transport, events for Cycling UK’s ‘Big Bike Revival’ are ongoing. The aim is to make cycling accessible to everyone. ‘Ride on Sistas’ based in Leicester and ‘Women in Tandem’ based in Nottingham are just two of the close to 40 community groups in the East Midlands Region that are taking part and offering activities. See their websites and Facebook pages for details.
Cycling UK’s Volunteers’ Week runs from 1st to 7th June with the theme this year ‘Thanking volunteers for all they do’. It’s thanks indeed to everyone who helps run our local cycling groups or community cycle clubs, puts on rides and events, encourages others to cycle, or carries out many of the other numerous tasks. Let us know of anyone who deserves a thanks and perhaps to be entered into the Going The Extra Mile award programme. Some of you may know Dave Hearn who has organised the Meriden Cyclists’ Memorial Service for a number of years and he’s just been given the Going the Extra Mile Lifetime Achievement Gold Award.
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend 2nd to 5th June sees a number of our member and affiliated groups hosting rides and events. There’s a joint ride on Sunday 5th June with CTC Burton and Derby groups for example and also on the same day CTC Northampton are organising a Jubilee ride to Royal Leamington Spa with refreshments at the Café Royal. Decorated bikes and bunting all round.
Bike Week 6th to 12th June has an extensive programme of rides and events with local involvement. A couple of examples include Cycling UK Gainsborough’s Dr. Bike sessions and a Charity Ride raising funds for the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance on Sunday 12th June and on the same day the North East Lincolnshire Poppy Ride, a free-to-ride cycling event that raises funds for the Royal British Legion and Royal British Legion Industries through donations.
York Rally 17th to 19th June. Following a couple of year’s absence due to Covid-19, the Rally is back. First run by the Yorkshire Inter District Association Committee, it’s now run independently from Cycling UK with the Rally based at York’s Knavesmire. The Rally attracts cyclists from across the region and many of our member groups are attending with organised rides to the event.
Plans are also underway to celebrate the Cyclists’ Touring Club’s 144th Birthday on 5th August.
Additionally, our member and affiliated groups in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire have a full programme of rides and events throughout the Summer.
The following are just a few examples:
DERBYSHIRE
Alfreton CTC: Bingo. An ongoing ‘Club Bingo’ to achieve a series of goals with prizes for those who ‘tick’ the most squares. Challenges range from inviting a friend to a club ride, climbing 2000 FT in one ride to visiting a café!
CTC Derby and Burton: A Derby Thursday ride on 23rd June for the Minniglow Picnic and a Burton Sunday ride on 21st August for the Best All Rounder (BAR) Standard Ride.
LEICESTERSHIRE and RUTLAND
Affiliated group Welland Valley CC are hosting the ‘Bruntingthorpe Festival of Cycling’ on 25th and 26th June. There’s a full programme of events, largely aimed at encouraging new and less experienced cyclists.
LINCOLNSHIRE
Cycling UK Lincoln are organising a camping weekend to South Holderness and Spurn Point from 10th to 12th June. Contact Andrew Townhill for details.
Affiliated group Pathfinders Rides CC are holding ‘Pathfinder Rides’ during July, culminating in the Grand Arrival over the weekend of 23rd and 24th July. This event is in support of and endorsed by The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) in Lincoln. The rides can be as long or as short as the rider wants but the start and route, significant to Bomber Command. This adventure is aimed at families, individual cyclists, club cyclists and bike packers.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Get your bike decorated and bunting ready for CTC Northampton’s Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Ride to Royal Leamington Spa and the Café Royal on Sunday 5th June.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
There are six groups based in Nottingham offering different category rides from A (long and fast) to D and E (easy and short). Something for everyone.
There are rides to the Vale of Belvoir every Thursday organised by the Thursday Rides Group whilst on Sunday 3rd July the Inters Group are heading to Oakham Castle in Rutland.
To find out full details of the rides and events that are being organised by member and affiliated groups across the Cycling UK East Midlands Region, click the link below:
