Here at iBikeLondon and Cyclehoop headquarters we’re still musing over the mellow mid-July weekend that just went by. What was so special about that weekend you say? Not the blazing rays of sun that bathed our beautiful city?
Well on Saturday 23rd July, we hosted our mid-summer Picnic Ride. Intimate in numbers but exuberant in energy, our 30 strong group of iBikers took a scenic cycle along the Thames path towards Richmond Park. From here, we took a small loop around the park, before finally settling by the lake for a luscious lunch. This cycle was a lovely relaxing niche nestled nicely between the weekends of the epic Dunwich Dynamo and the upcoming mega RideLondon – Surrey 100. Our riders thoroughly enjoyed the laid back -easy on the knees – pace and distance and had a refreshing glass of Pimms and quick dip in the lake.
At iBikelondon, we are all about encouraging people to cycle and celebrating the amazing progress our great city has made in helping this happen. London is privileged to have great charities such asSustrans and the London Cycling Campaign constantly working hard to change and improve our travel infrastructure. We have a plethora of cycling routes inside and outside of this city, allowing to safely experience and explore new places on our two wheels, and the best part of this, is that there are still more to come. Thanks guys!
At the Summer Picnic Ride, as well as many of our other bike rides, this hard work has been significantly impactful with our growing attendance of younger riders. At iBikeLondon we endeavour for our bike parties to be as safe as possible for people of all ages, and our Summer Picnic Ride was no different. This mid-summers ride purposefully took one of the safest routes through the city, so our riders would feel comfortable bringing their young ones along.
Kids love cycling, it’s fun, healthy, offers them a huge amount of autonomy and it’s also great for the environment. The cycle routes that London has provided have greatly impacted the growing numbers of young riders, and this was demonstrated with the brilliant Kidical Mass which was recently hosted along the Cycle Superhighway 3 in June, as well as the record breaking Bike Around The Borough kids ride in Hackney. It’s important for us as adults to nurture this enthusiasm, keep it fun and make sure they are safe along the way. After all, these are the bike riders of the future, and this city is theirs.
With this in mind, we thought we would signpost you to three resources to help you find family friendly bike rides to bring your pediatric peddlers along to:
- Routes for Families by Sustrans: http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/walking-and-cycling-inspiration/routes-families
- Family and Leisure Cycle by Forestry Commission England:http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/walking-and-cycling-inspiration/routes-families
- Child Friendly Cycle Tracks by Little Trekkers: http://www.littletrekkers.co.uk/fun-stuff-to-do-and-download/fun-stuff-to-do-with-the-kids-outdoors/item/child-friendly-disused-railway-cycle-trails.html
Don’t forget to get down to the Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle on Saturday 30th July! This is an amazing opportunity to get your whole family riding together throughthe usually traffic dominated London roads : https://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/events/freecycle/