Bike2Work on 20th June

Nick Harvey, the former commercial manager of the CTC, has now set up on his own and has been retained by the Festival of Cycling steering group to promote the Festival.

Here’s his press release on Bike2Work day.

Forget the car – Bike2Work instead on 20th June!

Local authorities, cycle user groups and campaigners are urging businesses to encourage employees to cycle to work on 20th June. Bike2Work Day is during the nationwide Festival of Cycling (16th-24th June), the UK’s annual celebration of cycling previously called National Bike Week.

Information on local Bike2Work Day events can be found on the Festival of Cycling website at www.cyclingfestival.org.uk or from local authorities.

Employers and employees are being encouraged to forsake their cars, skip the train, tram or bus and take to two wheels instead. Adding to the appeal in many towns and cities are free ‘bikers breakfasts’ provided in the workplace.

More British people own a bicycle than ever before and cycling is growing in popularity. But of the 20 million cycles in the UK many are used only rarely. Bike2Work Day is an annual promotion aimed to get more people cycling more often. It compliments European Car Free Day which this year is on 22nd September (visit www.eta.co.uk or phone 0208 946 0912 for information).

A bicycle is often the fastest and most convenient means of transport for journeys of up to 10 miles in urban areas. Cycling offers genuine and flexible door-to-door convenience and has the added benefit of improving fitness and performance at work. Cyclists reduce traffic congestion and parking demand.

Those are not the only reasons why employers are keen to encourage staff to start cycling as an alternative to car use – car parking spaces are much more expensive to provide than cycle stands! Enlightened employers also provide changing rooms with showers for cyclists. These can aid staff recruitment and employees who use their bicycles for business can be paid up to 20p per mile.

Free advice for employers is available at www.nationalcyclingstrategy.org.uk

ends

Issued on behalf of the Festival of Cycling Liaison Group by Nick Harvey, who welcomes media enquiries on 01243 543888, email HQ@cyclingfestival.org.uk

Please see Notes to Editors below…

Bike2Work Day – 20th June 2001

Notes to Editors

Bike2Work Day is on Wednesday 20th June. Please note that some local authorities and employers are organising bike to work or cycle to work events on other days that week.

The new Bike2Work logo can be downloaded from www.cyclingfestival.org.uk or can be supplied via ISDN, as an email attachment or on CD.

The Festival of Cycling 2001 (FoC) runs from Saturday 16th June to Sunday 24th June. The FoC logo can be downloaded from www.cyclingfestival.org.uk or can be supplied via ISDN, as an email attachment or on CD.

The FoC is being run along the lines of previous National Bike Weeks. Locally based organisers plan events and activities, which they register with the FoC Co-ordinator (see below). Most events are eligible for free £5M public liability insurance (racing and massed-start events are excluded).

The FoC is being held despite Foot & Mouth Disease (FMD). In some rural areas, local actions necessary to prevent the spread of FMD may cause some FoC events to be postponed or cancelled. Bike2Work Day and other FoC events are not being registered if there are local concerns about FMD.

The FoC is being run for a ‘steering group’ of the UK’s leading cycling organisations, supported by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). The ten members of the Festival of Cycling 2001 Liaison Group are:

Association of Cycle Traders

Bicycle Association

British Cycling Federation

British Schools Cycling Association

Consortium of Bicycle Retailers

CTC (Cyclists’ Touring Club)

Cycle Campaign Network

Cycling Time Trials

National TravelWise Association

Sustrans.

FoC 2001 is being co-ordinated for the Liaison Group by Nick Harvey, who managed National Bike Week in 1999 and secured Lottery funding for last year’s Millennium Festival of Cycling.

Issued on behalf of the Festival of Cycling Liaison Group by Nick Harvey, who welcomes media enquiries on 01243 543888, email HQ@cyclingfestival.org.uk