Get on your bike for the GM Cycle Commute Challenge 2010 and be in with a chance to win some great prizes!

The Cycle Commute challenge is simple, all you have to do is cycle to and from your place of work/study at least once during Bike Week (19th – 27th June),  record your cycle trip(s) and you could win a cycle computer, cycle training or bike maintenance sessions and £100 vouchers that can be spent at your local cycle shop.

Cycling to work has been proved to be healthy, fast and fun, so even
if you do not win the prize you can't lose! Still not convinced, then
visit the health and fitness section to learn more about the benefits
of cycling for you, your community and the environment.

Want to take part in the Commute Challenge as a team? Then encourage your company, organisation or school to register for the group challenge.

We hope you enjoy the Greater Manchester Commute Cycle Challenge 2010! 

You can find out more and register here.

Can you make your Bike dance ? Bicycle Ballet, Sunday 25th July

80 cyclists needed for a City Centre dance spectacular in Castlefield on Sunday 25th July.

As part of Urban Moves, Manchester’s outdoor festival of contemporary dance, there’s a chance to show off your cycling skills in a highly original way.  The Bicycle Ballet, a spectacular dance performance on bicycles, is looking for 80 local cyclists to join in a mass performance in the city centre.  

The Bicycle Ballet is a 30 minute dance performance, celebrating the dance that is cycling, and will take place on Sunday 25 July in Manchester’s city centre.  According to the organisers, the bicycle ballet is reminiscent of Busby Berkeley’s stunning synchronized film choreography and  explores the highs and lows of city cycling: the sheer joy of swerving downhill on a bike, the wind behind you and the sun on your face, tempered by the gritty reality of urban cycling. 

Originally conceived by Karen Poley for Car Free Day in 2006 and directed and choreographed by Virginia Farman and subsequently performed in Brighton, London and Lille, The Bicycle Ballet has been specially commissioned for Manchester as part of this year’s Urban Moves festival.  

To take part in this cycling spectacular you need to: 

• have basic bike-riding skills and confidence
• own a bike
• be prepared to commit to some evening training sessions, a weekend rehearsal in July and, of course, the performance itself on 25 July.

No dance experience is required and all ages are welcome, although a level of cycling proficiency is required. Participants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. (minimum Level 2 Bikeability/National Standard is suggested).

For more information and to register, email:  info@digm.org.uk or 0161 232 7179.

Additional information at www.bicycleballet.co.uk  

Never buy 'gas' again !

Haven't yet seen any UK petrol companies running an equivalent 'Petrol for Life' competition  but wonder what re-decoration options would present themselves if they ever do!

This photo by Craig C., who comments, “In Berkeley, California, where even the delinquent vandals are environmentally conscious” and was brought to our attention by those nice folks at the Cyclelicious blog.

GMPTE Consultation on cycle storage (Deadline 7th June - ish!)

Well its consultation time (again) and those nice people at Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) are "asking for feedback from cyclists and cycling groups in Greater Manchester on work they are having done on the design of future cycling facilities at public transport locations."  They want comments back by Monday 7 June (or very latest 11th June) and the questions are listed below:

GMPTE Cycle Design Guide Consultation:

1.Type and Quantity of cycle storage

* What type of storage should be provided (ie stands/lockers) and if lockers are provided, what sort should they be?

* How many stands/lockers should we be providing at each location and how should the amount vary according to the type of location?

* How should lockers be accessed eg key, swipe card, coin?

2.Location of storage/security issues

*how should the level of security (including lighting, CCTV, natural surveillance) available influence the location of storage or the type provided?

* where should storage be located for easy access & how can access be improved?

3.Availability of storage

* how can we improve the availability of storage/ make sure there is sufficient storage available for occasional users?

* Should storage be available at all locations (eg bearing in mind different levels of security)?

4.Management/ Maintenance and Cost

* how can the management of the lockers be improved?

* how can we maximise the usage of lockers?

* should charging be per use, or a one-off charge?

5.Signage requirements

* what signage is needed to encourage take up (eg to the stations, within the station)

6.Other

* are there any supporting services that are needed to encourage people to cycle to public transport locations?

* anything else, not covered above, that you feel is important?

So if you feel like sending them your thoughts please email responses to moira.percy@gmpte.gov.uk

Now far be it for anyone to suggest what you should write but we would hope that GMPTE are taking note of the GM Cycle Parking guidelines adopted by all Greater Manchester councils.

And those nice folks at Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign (GMCC) have also made useful, but less than flattering, comments on the cycle lockers that have been favoured by GMPTE in the past.  See for example the April 2008 entitled "Useless Cycle Parking : A survey of poor parking facilities in Trafford and surrounding areas" which commented that:

"Sadly, the lockers are too small for any bike larger than a mountain bike. Another problem with this type of locker is that any bikes with full mud-guards going round the rear wheel will find it gets damaged" and that "It can also be quite difficult to lift the bike up onto the rear wheel and manoeuvre it into the locker."

The GMCC report also listed the dimensions of the GMPTE cycle lockers that had been tested in 2008. These were:


Dimensions (Locker)    Dimensions (My Bike):
         183 cm (L)                 189 cm (L)
           68 cm (W)                  66 cm (W)
         110 cm (H)                114 cm (H)

More details of the GMPTE Bicycle Lockers Users Club (BLUC) are available here.

Happy consulting!

Stockport Loves Bikes !

Stockport Loves Bikes

A World Environment Day event in Stockport. 

Saturday 5th June, 

10am - 4pm, Historic Market Place.
11am - 4pm, St Peter’s Square, St Petersgate.

World Environment Day is all about taking action so you can become part of the solution - everyone can play their part by using less and acting more.
 

Going green isn’t as difficult as you might think!

To mark this occasion Stockport Loves Bikes makes a welcome return. This magnificent bike event will be promoti ng sustainable transport. It will include lots of hands on activity for everyone:

Bike displays and demonstrations
Bike skills
Bike dressing workshops
A best dressed bike competition and a bike parade
Pedal powered music
Bike repair service
Cycle training, safety and security

Stockport Historic Market Place will be hosting specialist eco stalls. W.E.D will be teaming up with the Market as part of the national Making Markets Matt er campaign to promote sustainable development. There will be lots of information and advice to help you take action.

If you would like more information and want to get involved, contact Stockport Art Gallery on 0161 474 4453.

Vote for Cycling!

In the run up to the local council elections on 6th May, Love Your Bike and Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign (GMCC) invited local council election candidates in every ward to complete a cycling issues survey which asked the candidates to respond to five questions:

• How often do you cycle?

• Do you support the introduction of 20mph speed limits in all residential areas such as the “20s Plenty for us” schemes as introduced in Portsmouth, Newcastle, Oxford, Warrington and Wirral? 

• Would you support your local council providing free adult cycle training to people who live/work in your local authority area?

• Do you think that people should be able to travel with bicycles on Metrolink during off-peak travel times?

• What policies does your party have to encourage more people to cycle to work, school, shopping or for leisure purposes?

A more detailed report is available on the Love Your Bike website but the key findings are shown below:

•  Top of the poll for the proportion of candidates responding were the Green Party (43%) followed by the Liberal Democrats (16.5%), Labour Party (11.5%) and Conservative Party (2.9%).

• The highest turnout figures from candidates were in Trafford (25.84%), Manchester (24%) and Stockport (21.6%).  The lowest turnout was in Oldham (1.3%).

• The survey results indicate that local election candidates in Greater Manchester cycle more often than the average person in the North West.

• Over 90% of the local council election candidates who responded supported the 20mph speed limit in residential areas. There were high levels of support from most political parties: Green (97%), Liberal Democrat (96.8%) and Labour (88%). The majority of the Conservative Party candidates (60%) also supported this policy.

• Of the local council election candidates who responded, over 90% supported local councils providing free adult cycle training. With high levels of support from most political parties: Green (97.2%), Liberal Democrat (93.1%) and Labour (91.3%).  Only 33% of Conservative candidates supported this idea.

• Despite being a potential ‘hot potato’ issue for local council election candidates given the recent decisions by the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) regarding bicycle carriage on Metrolink trams - the survey results indicated that there was support for cycle carriage on off-peak trams across all political parties and Council areas: Green (100%), Labour (95.8%), Liberal Democrat (86.7%) and Conservative (66.7%).

Love Your Bike and Greater Manchester Cycling campaign have thanked all the local council election candidates who responded to the survey and have stated that they "would welcome the opportunity to work with local councillors to improve cycling infrastructure and facilities and to increase the number of people cycling in Greater Manchester."

Oxford Road closure starts early !

Last year, GMPTE ran a consultation on its plans to remove car traffic from Oxford Road and only permit buses, taxis and bicycles to use a section of the road from Whitworth Park up to the Cornerhhouse. Whilst supportive of the overall plans, many cycling advocacy groups, and reportedly some of the bus companies, were unhappy with the proposed cycling infrastructure designs, and submitted detailed responses.  

The consultation process ended in December 2009 and GMPTE recently confirmed that they had received a significant amount of feedback on the Oxford Rd cycle measures and "as a consequence are reconsidering the design."

GMPTE also confirmed that they will be gathering further views on the best solution for this route, before revised plans are finalised later in the year and that they will formally gathering views from cycling groups on the re-designed scheme. GMPTE are happy to receive any feedback people have but there will be a more formal opportunity to make an informed contribution to the design later in the year.

So you can either send in your comments now or respond to the re-designed scheme later this year. Contact either: consult@gmpte.gov.uk  or  views2009@gmpte.gov.uk

However, given the length of time that Oxford Road will be partially closed for gas main replacement works (see photo), it looks like sections of Oxford Road will be pretty much closed to cars a lot earlier than planned !