The festival is a celebration of the city’s unique cycling culture and the extensive and inclusive world of cycling. It will reach out to the local community and raise awareness of Camcycle’s vision for more, better and safer cycling for all ages and abilities.
The flagship event will be the Cargo Carnival: a fantastic parade of cargo bikes to showcase the ways cycling can be used to carry people and products in everyday life. We're hoping for the largest ever collection of cargo bikes in the UK. Other events include a family cycling event, a screening of the Dutch film ‘Why We Cycle’ and a Camcycle social ride to Eddington. We have speakers including Alec Seaman from World Bicycle Relief and Kat Jungnickel, author of ‘Bikes and Bloomers’. We will also be running a Cambridge Cycling Survey alongside the festival to investigate current trends in and around Cambridge.
Camcycle is pleased to be partnering with Cambridge Independent, which will be exploring cycling issues in each of their editions during the festival.
The team says: "There are plenty of opportunities for 'cycling superhero' volunteers to get involved in the Festival and we'd love to hear about even more events we can promote. Please get in touch if you’d like to promote an event or get involved by emailing [email protected].
"The intention is that the festival will grow and become an annual event, much like our flagship Reach Ride, raising awareness and connecting with more people who can help support our campaign. The festival will also create opportunities to work more closely with other local groups to celebrate the rich cycling culture in Cambridge.
"An event of this size has been a goal of the Campaign for some time and we are excited to finally make it happen. The festival is kindly supported by Cambridge Independent, Cambridge City Council and the Greater Cambridge Partnership. We are also grateful to Power to the Pedal and Outspoken Cycles for their sponsorship and welcome other partnerships from organisations who would like to support our individual events. You can keep up-to-date with the latest festival information at www.cambridgefestivalofcycling.org or by following @camcyclefest on Twitter."
EXCITING NEW EVENTS ADDED TO FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Since it launched the Festival of Cycling two weeks ago in the Cambridge Independent, Camcycle has been delighted with the response from local residents and organisations. New cycling-related events are being added to the calendar each day providing something for everyone, no matter what your age or ability.
For those who enjoy a ride, the Camcycle/CTC Byways and Highways ride will take you for a tour around the city while Outspoken’s cycle tours of Eddington will give you a glimpse into this new cycle-friendly area of Cambridge. Or, why not start the weekend by meeting new people on the #CamRideHome, starting and finishing at The Mill pub?
If your cycle’s not in ride-ready condition, take it along to Outspoken’s Dr Bike session at Open Eddington, Addenbrooke’s Cycling Clinic run by Cambridge Electric Transport or Cambridge Carbon Footprint’s Repair Cafe Plus.
The Camcycle stall will popping up at the Addenbrooke’s Cycling Clinic too, so come and speak to us about all your cycling queries and issues and pick up some more information about cycling in Cambridge. You’ll also find us at the Travel Plan Plus Green Transport Day at the Cambridge Business Park, Milton Country Park Autumn Festival and the Grand Arcade student night.
If you’re interested in the history of cycling, Plurabelle Books has a bicycle-themed exhibit in their bookshop on weekdays throughout the month and the Cambridgeshire Collection on the top floor of the library will be featuring a special exhibition called ‘Wheels through Time’.
Finally, rounding up the programme are some fun and creative cycling-themed events. The Children’s Library will be holding their own celebration of ‘Wheels through Time’ with stories and crafts on the bottom floor of Cambridge Central Library for children aged 18 months or over. School-age children will love the interactive pedal power exhibits at Open Eddington where you can cycle your way to a blended smoothie or a fully-charged mobile. And the cycle light painting workshop with Lucinda Price Photography is perfect for creative adults – an opportunity to experiment with bikes and lights and discover what your camera can do.
With just a week left until the start of the festival, Camcycle is thrilled to be promoting such a varied programme of events, but there’s still time to add yours! Get in touch at [email protected] if you have a cycling-themed event to add to the list and let’s get celebrating this city’s unique cycling culture.