About
Birmingham is part of the Sky Ride campaign, aiming to get one million more people riding a bike by 2013. Sky Ride Birmingham, a mass participation traffic-free bike ride, took place on 3rd July and was a great success.
The area's hosting a range of activities including Sky Ride Local rides and bike maintenance workshops to help you keep your wheels in great shape. Look out for Breeze bike rides – fun, social, informal bike rides for women. Coming to a park or cycle path near you!
News
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Be Active by bike in Birmingham
An exciting new joint initiative from the NHS and British Cycling is encouraging people to start cycling in Birmingham.
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Birmingham's Mayor gets on her bike
The Mayor of Birmingham is keeping the wheels of Sky Ride Local in motion in Victoria Square by showing her support for free, weekly family bike rides.
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Be active by bike
Be Active by Bike is an exciting new initiative funded by the NHS and delivered by British Cycling which encourages people to start cycling in Birmingham. Cycle Hubs have been set up to provide free access to bikes and cycling activities for those who don’t currently cycle. The hubs are perfect if you're new to cycling, or haven’t been on a bike for ages, as they're designed to help beginners gain confidence.
Hubs have been set up at the following locations:
Handsworth Leisure Centre (0121 464 6336)
Court Road Health and Fitness (0121 303 1700)
Nechells Community Sports Centre (0121 464 4373)
Ackers Adventure (07799 454181)
The HUB – Bromford Drive (0121 448 3739)
Ward End Park (07834 517347)
Each hub has 15 adult bikes and includes the following free activities*: led rides, cycle training with qualified Bikeability instructors, community group bike hire.
To access any of these facilities contact your nearest hub. For more information about the scheme, email dawnrahman@britishcycling.org.uk.
*You must have a Be Active leisure card to take part in any activities.
Keep riding
Cycling support in Birmingham
If you want to know about cycling in Birmingham - or you're just interested in thinking about getting in the saddle then Birmingham City Council have lots of great information on routes and you can request a free walking and cycling map.
The council also runs cycle training for children and adults.
British Cycling is working with the Council to promote cycling opportunities. Sustrans is also very active in Birmingham, helping more people get into cycle commuting and cycling to school.
Pushbikes is a cycling campaign to make Birmingham and the West Midlands more cycle friendly. Join in one of their leisure rides or download a cycling map.
Bike2Life is a community project organising rides and maintenance sessions in Sutton Coldfield. You’ll find lots of help and encouragement.
Midland Cycle Hire offers easy bike hire in Birmingham, Solihull and surroundings.
Places to ride
Birmingham and the surrounding area has some great places to ride.
Cycling West Midlands offers great information on cycling in the West Midlands Metropolitan area and links to the cycling pages for Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
Planning a commuter route is easier now the West Midlands has been added to the national Transport Direct online journey planner in 2010. Plan door to door cycle journeys - take the quietest, quickest or most recreational route.
Routes in Erdington and Sutton Coldfield centred on Plants Brook and the Newhall Valley.
Birmingham's stunning canal network provides great routes for commuting or leisure close to the city centre.
Cannock Chase offers a relaxing family day out or a technical cross country blast or a challenging downhill route – whatever you want. There are three cycle trails at Cannock Chase designed for leisure cyclists and families.
Cycling in Sandwell is for anyone interested in cycling of any kind in and around Sandwell. Sandwell PCT also run monthly led rides around Sandwell Valley.
Cycle Solihull is a volunteer-led community initiative to encourage more people to cycle in Solihull. You can join in one of the local leisure rides for all abilities and download a local route.
Local cycling clubs
British Cycling can help you to find a club that’s right for you. You can use the ‘club finder’ link to find a club near you There are some great cycling clubs and groups in Birmingham who welcome new and novice cyclists to come along and ride with them, including:
Hopwood Ladies
A recreational non-competitive cycling club run by women for women in the south of Birmingham. Offering fab weekly rides for all abilities taking into account family and work commitments.
Beacon Roads Cycling Club offers monthly introductory social led rides. If you fancy a relatively short, easy-paced ride suitable for newcomers including cafe stops for refreshments – you’ll be among friends!
Stourbugs is Stourbridge's bicycle users group, offering cycling for fun, leisure and pleasure.
Solihull Cycling Club offers everything from competitive cycling to weekly recreational club rides catering for all abilities.
Halesowen Cycling Club offers competitive and recreational cycling opportunities to all.
Stourbridge Cycling Club supports both competitive and non-competitive, on and off-road cycling.
Stourbridge Velo Cycling Club encourages the enjoyment of recreational and professional racing cycling in the local area.
Beacon Roads Cycling Club offer monthly introductory social led rides. The purpose is to provide a relatively short, easy-paced ride suitable for newcomers including cafe stops for refreshments!
Training
Learning to maintain your bike means a puncture doesn't strand you at the roadside! Courses and workshops from these providers can teach you how:
www.bikefoundry.org
www.bike2life.org.uk
www.northfieldecocentre.org
Sky Ride Birmingham took place on Sunday 3rd July and was an amazing experience. 15,500 people took the opportunity to ride their bikes through the city's traffic-free streets, enjoying all the entertainment along the way.
About Birmingham
Sky Ride Birmingham took place on Sunday 3rd July and was an amazing experience. 15,500 people took the opportunity to ride their bikes through the city's traffic-free streets, enjoying all the entertainment along the way.
If Sky Ride Birmingham has whetted your appetite for getting back on your bike, there are plenty of other ways you can get involved. There are Sky Ride Local rides taking place in the area from 4th July - your chance to join a small, friendly led ride in your neighbourhood.
If you think your bike might need a bit of an overhaul, or you're worried about getting a puncture when you're out and about, we're holding two bike maintenance workshops in Birmingham on 15th and 16th July – one for total beginners and one for those with a bit of bike know-how.
It's also well worth checking out our 'Keep riding' page (see the tab above) for loads of information on everything from finding a nice route in your area, to joining a cycling club.
Breeze bike rides from British Cycling are small, friendly, local rides for women – have a look at their ride finder to see if there's a ride near you. Or if you think you could inspire other women to get out on their bikes more often, why not become one of our brilliant Breeze champions?
And don't forget goskyride.com has loads of information and tips – whether you're thinking about starting to ride your bike to work, want to brush up on your puncture-fixing skills, or you're looking for some advice on riding safely.
Birmingham News
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More than 15,000 turn out for a sunny Sky Ride Birmingham
It wasn't just the weather than was smiling as more than 15,000 cyclists took to the streets of Birmingham...
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Lorraine Kelly looks forward to Sky Ride Birmingham
Lorraine Kelly is getting back into the saddle at Sky Ride Birmingham. Will you be there?
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No wheels? You can still take part in Sky Ride Birmingham!
Check out details of our bike hire scheme and get yourself some wheels for the day!
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Birmingham Sky Ride announced
Sky Ride is on its way back to Birmingham - are you taking part?
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Photos and videos
Were you at Sky Ride Birmingham on Sunday 3rd July 2011? Have a look and see if you can spot yourself – or just have a browse and see what you missed!
Browse all the photos from Sky Ride Birmingham.
And check out our videos for a flavour of the day:
Report
15,500 people joined TV presenter Lorraine Kelly and World and Olympic Champion cyclist Victoria Pendleton MBE for Sky Ride Birmingham on 3rd July. Many more came out to watch and experience the day as cyclists of all ages and abilities took to traffic-free streets for the chance to enjoy the town on two wheels. The day marked the third event of Sky Ride 2011 - a national campaign to get one million people cycling regularly by 2013.
The free event hosted by Sky and British Cycling, in partnership with Birmingham City Council, allowed riders to take in the 7.5km route at their own pace whilst enjoying some of the city’s well-known landmarks and sights including the Rag and Wholesale Markets, the new Edgbaston Cricket Ground and the green open spaces of Cannon Hill and Calthorpe Parks. Participants were treated to a whole host of activities and entertainment throughout the day along the route.
With performances from local buskers, demonstrations from the Sky Sports Living for Team Extreme BMXers, performances from Hip Hop Shakespeare and the chance to buy on-trend bike accessories, there was something on hand for everyone to enjoy. Stars from the worlds of cycling and TV took time out to help less experienced riders and chatted with participants in the British Cycling Bike Cafe. There was also plenty of entertainment for young people including a Go-Ride racing course where participants tested their racing skills and received tips and advice from pro’s and British Cycling coaches.
As well as taking part in Sky Ride Birmingham, local residents are also being asked to take part in a nationwide poll and nominate their favourite hill to cycle down in the region. Backed by multiple world and Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, the nationwide search will see the ultimate cycling descent being crowned the UK’s Perfect Hill. Find out more and nominate your perfect hill.
Sky Ride Ambassador Lorraine Kelly commented: “I had such a brilliant time in Birmingham today and it has been lovely to meet so many Sky Riders of all ages. The route was fantastic as Birmingham has such a range of iconic old buildings and new modern ones. There were also some utterly brilliant bikes; Birmingham definitely pulled out all the stops!”
Birmingham City Council’s Cllr Martin Mullaney, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture said: “It’s fantastic that once again so many people joined us in Birmingham to enjoy this fantastic event. As a city we are keen to promote the benefits of staying fit and healthy to local people and Sky Ride is playing an important part in that.”
Sky Ride Birmingham is just one of the many ways local residents can get back on their bikes through this year’s Sky Ride campaign. Sky Ride Local Rides are running every Sunday through the summer in and around Birmingham which take in everything from the countryside and local sights. Bike maintenance workshops are available in Birmingham on 15th and 16th July – to help everyone keep riding with confidence.
