Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign

Discover pleasant Cycle Rides out of Swinton and find things and places of cultural, historical, sporting and general interest (approx. 4 to 7 miles each way)

Meet at:
Swinton Civic Centre lawns in front of Town Hall Clock, Chorley Rd (A6), M27 5AW at 6.30 pm

No need to “join” or sign up. Just turn up and ride or contact Organiser for more info.

All riders join at their own risk. Any under 18s to be accompanied by a parent or carer.

Do ensure your bike has working lights front & back, working brakes, a bell and please pack a waterproof jacket if it looks like rain.

These rides have been organised jointly by GMCC ( Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign) and LOG (LancashreOutdoorGroup.com).

A series of evening guided rides is being planned for Aug & Sept, approx one every 2 weeks, starting from Swinton Civic centre on behalf of GMCC and Lancashire Outdoor Group. This is a follow-up to the BGF ( Big Green Festival) in Swinton during Bike Week (26 June). On GMCC’s stand, we took down 26 cyclists’ names, with a majority saying they were afraid of riding on roads, but would like to have a go on a guided ride with experienced leaders - if it started locally.

Like the existing GMCC social rides starting from Albert Sq, M’cr on the 3rd Thursday of the month, these will be between 5 to 7 miles each way, with a pub-stop in the middle.

If there is reasonable demand, they will be followed up with monthly half-day rides on Sundays from October onwards, starting locally, ie from Swinton Civic Centre or similar.

The draft routes and names of designated leaders, all local residents, are in the attachment. We are riding out the routes at present, to ensure they are safe for intermediate grade riders and that we can return at a reasonable time. We hope to publish the dates of the planned rides by Tuesday 20 JULY.

Graeme Sherriff encouraged me to start this new Bike Friday morning ride because there was nothing organised from West of Manchester. He put me in touch with Joy Woods of GMPTE who was already riding in to work in Piccadilly Manchester. She lives in Monton and I live in Worsley, close to the old Worsley station on Sustrans Route no 55.

During May, we had several rides into Manchester in the morning : to find a safe, quiet but quick route with pick-up points at Worsley ( 7.40AM ), Monton Green ( 7.50AM ) , Hope Hospital ( 8.00AM), Weaste ( 8.10AM ) & Langworthy rd ( 8.15AM ) to arrive at Exchange Sq for 8.30AM via Princes Bridge and Spinningfields.

Our first ride, on Fri 28th, with myself as leader and Joy Woods as sweeper-up attracted no-one!

However, the following month’s ride, on Fri 25 June - during bike week - had 7 of us altogether going out. 3 of them treated it as a social ride and returned to Worsley with myself using a more scenic route along the R. Irwell -> M’cr Ship Canal -> Salford Quays -> Lowry Centre -> Hope Hospital. The 5 joining us had been attracted to the ride via the Bike week web-site or by word of mouth.

Anup

Bike Friday; May 27th, June 25th and July 30th

Evening Social Bike Rides. A series of short, (10 miles there and back) rides radiating from Manchester City centre. Discover pleasant routes out of the city, and find things and places of cultural, historical and other interest. May’s ride Thurs 20th, 2010, starting 5.30pm from Albert Square and going to Heaton Park. IF YOU CAN’T MAKE THE START TIME: meet us at the Woodthorpe on Bury Old Road, Prestwich M25 0EG at 7 pm where we will have a snack. The leader for this ride will be Cat. Other dates Thursday June 24th (Route 6 Albert Square to the Airport); Thursday July 22nd route TBA. See www.bikeweek.org.uk/GMCC_Evening_Social_Bike_Rides

Visit our stall on Sun 20 June, 12pm-5pm. at Trafford Bike Festival aimed at the whole family.
Worthington Park,Broad Road, Sale, Trafford, M33 2ES . Guided rides, displays, activities and Dr Bike workshop. 0161 912 1462 cycling (at) trafford.gov.uk

Other events to be announced see www.bikeweek.org.uk . Input your postcode and see the events in your area

See also the latest Pothole Magazine (GMCC’s magazine)

A series of short, (10 miles there and back) rides radiating from Manchester City centre. Discover pleasant routes out of the city, and find things and places of cultural, historical and alcoholical interest. First ride Thurs 18th of March, 2010, starting 5.30pm from Albert Square and going to Chorlton and, possibly Jackson’s Boat via Route 6. Then once a month till November: dates as follows:-

• April 22nd
• May 20th
• Jun 24th
• Jul 22nd
• Aug 19th
• Sep 23rd
• Oct 21st
• Nov 18th

More gen on routes and destinations coming soon. No need to “join” or sign up. Just turn up and ride. The “Leader” will be Rob Raikes except when he’s away on hol. (Quite a lot this year)

Anyone interested in leading in May, June, August and September please contact me at raikes[at]gmail.com

GMCC is now able to offer a limited number of places on its training sessions to be delivered on a one-to-one basis, or occasionally in groups of no more than three – by nationally accredited instructors registered by DfT.

“The perceived risk from the traffic on today’s roads puts a lot of people off cycling on them… It might feel less safe today but it isn’t. You’re actually safer now than you would have been in those halcyon days of 1950 when there were far fewer drivers… Dense traffic tends to be slower traffic, and heavily-used urban roads can be quite safe for cycling so long as you ride sensibly and assertively. Assertiveness is key. You don’t have to get out of the way for the traffic: you are the traffic…If you hide in the gutter and ride submissively, you’re less safe than if you’re out there in the traffic stream, integrating with other road users.”
(The CTC Guide to Family Cycling, Chapter 6)

The above quotes are all about the new national cycle training standards – cycling proficiency for the 21st Century.

Whether you’re an experienced commuter just needing to brush-up on your riding techniques or not very confident with traffic, or anywhere in between, GMCC’s training is right for you. We will tailor our sessions to suit your needs.

All we ask in return is that you make a small contribution equal to a year’s membership of GMCC and give us some feedback post training, which we would like to use in cycle promotion.

To get started, all you need to do is complete our simple application form or contact training[at]gmcc.org.uk for an initial chat.

Please click here to download the application form.

Please click here to download the post-session feedback form.

As you may have heard or seen in the press (http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1189378_gmptes_dirty_tricks_over_bike_ban_on_trams), last month the Capital Projects Commitee of the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority voted narrowly in favour of a Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) report, proposing to maintain the current ban on bicycles on Metrolink tram.

This was based on a consultants’ report, which was only made public following a Freedom of Information request.

Additionally, in 2002, the then GMPTA voted overwhelmingly in favour of the principle of off-peak carriage of bikes on Metrolink (see here for a history of the issue: http://www.gmcc.org.uk/main/?p=137/).

On Friday 12th February, the full GMITA will meet. We are asking everyone to e-mail all the GMITA councillors to express your concerns about the way this decision has been taken without consultation and on the basis of a flawed report, and to encourage the councillors to overturn the previous decision and fully consult on and consider the issue.

Below, please find links to a template letter you can personalise, and a list of all the GMITA councillors’ e-mail addresses. You may also wish to send a copy of your e-mail letter to your own local councillors and even MP, whose details you can find via www.theyworkforyou.com.

Thanks for your help!

letter-to-gmita-councillors-regarding-ban-on-metrolink-cycle-carriage

gmita-councillors

The latest (January) issue of the GMCC’s Cycle Carriage News (pdf) has now been published. It includes:

• GMPTE’s Secret Report - Confirms Bikes On Trams Are Safe (but don’t tell the GMITA)
• Metrolink Cycle Carriage - How It Can Easily be Done
• How the GMITA betrayed the public