Blog

We’re offering something for everyone this autumn…

Cycle training for children
We have a full programme of free cycling courses for children running in the October half term. There are three courses to choose from:

• Beginners (age 5-12) for children who can’t yet ride without stabilisers
• Bikeability Level 1 (age 5-12) teaches bike control skills off road
• Bikeability Level 2 (age 9-12) get the skills to ride safely on road

And we’re running them at three venues in N19, N1 and NW3. For full details and to book, click here.

Cycle training for adults
You can do a weekend course if you are a beginner or an improver and want to practice off-road. And advanced cyclists wanting to improve their on-road skills, can book individual training.

Cycle training for families
To learn how to ride together as a family, you can book a family training session.

Follow the leader
Explore your borough on our Islington by Bike rides – there will be 12 rides over the next 12 months! These family-friendly community bike rides are suitable for children and adults. They’re run by Islington Council and led by qualified cycle instructors.Free of charge, but places are limited, so you must book in advance here.

The first two rides set out at 10am from Rosemary Gardens and Elthorne Park on Friday 30 October, feature a rest stop halfway and will get you back by noon.

The Sky’s no limit
There are also two Sky Rides in Islington on Sunday 27 September (Islington Local Pride: Canals, Parks and Quietways) and Sunday 26 October (Islington Local Pride:Emirates, Ecology Park and Finsbury Park). Both are 10-mile rides at an easy pace. They’re also free to take part in.

Getting more sporty
Fresh from winning Sport Islington’s Club of the Year award, Islington Cycling Club have grown even more and have now reached 425 members. They run eight weekly rides with local start points. For more details visit the club website or email the club secretary. The photo below is from one of their ladies rides.

Bike maintenance classes
Our bike maintenance classes have proved so popular that they are currently fully booked. We’ll add more when we can. Meanwhile, we have found out about another free bike repair class and workshop that you might find useful. It is every Wednesday, 5pm-8pm, 1 Rochester Square, NW1 9RZ. Just turn up with your bike in hand.

More local cycling links
There are also details of further maintenance classes and links to many other local cycling facilities.

Let’s get riding

Children’s courses

There has been high demand for our summer holiday Bikeability courses for children. So, much so that there are just a few places left at our regular venues – Elthorne Park, Rosemary Gardens and Haverstock School.

So, we have added a whole new week of courses at a new venue…the Emirates!

You can see the details and book here.

Led rides

Cycling is a lot of fun and if you just want to go for a big cycle, join us on one of our Islington By Bike rides. These two family-friendly community bike rides are suitable for children and adults who can ride a bike competently.

They are run by Islington Council and led by qualified cycle instructors.

Free of charge, but you must book in advance here.
They set out at 10am from Rosemary Gardens, feature a rest stop halfway and will get you back to Rosemary Gardens by noon.

Bike maintenance classes

Our bike maintenance classes have proved so popular that they are currently fully booked. We’ll add more when we can. Meanwhile, we have found out about another free bike repair class and workshop that you might find useful. It is every Wednesday, 1 Rochester Square, NW1 9RZ. Just turn up with your bike in hand.

There’s so much cycling you can do this summer…

Celebrate cycling
The third Finsbury Park Festival of Cycling takes place on Sunday 14 June (12noon-6pm), where there will be loads of free cycle-related things to take part in, as well as food stalls, face painting and a bouncy castle. See the flyer for more details.

Islington By Bike
On Friday 24 July and Friday 31 July we’re running fully marshalled family-friendly bike rides around the borough. They are free to take part in, but you must sign up in advance. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Book here. Here’s a slideshow from a previous ride.
Cycle training for children
There are three courses to choose from:

• Beginners(age 5-12) for children who can’t yet ride without stabilisers
• Bikeability Level 1 (age 5-12) teaches bike control skills off road
• Bikeability Level 2(age 9-12) get the skills to ride safely on road

We’re running these at venues in N19, N1 and NW3. For full details and to book, click here.

Cycle training for adults
You can do a weekend course, if you are a beginner, or for improvers and advanced cyclists wanting to improve their road skills, book individual training.

Cycle training for families
And to learn how to ride together as a family, you can book a family training session.

The Sky’s the limit
There are also three Sky Rides that start in Islington this summer on Sunday 26 July, Wednesday 30 July and Sunday 27 September. They’re free to take part in.

Big ride on closed roads

The London FreeCycle is a free family-friendly ride on closed roads in central London on Saturday 1 August. If you want to take part, Islington Cyclists’ Action Group is running a feeder ride from Highbury Fields.
Have a great summer!

Best wishes

David Shannon
Cycling officer

Ready for you to book!

We have a full programme of free cycling courses running at Easter to get you all set to enjoy the summer in the saddle.

For children
There are three courses to choose from:

• Beginners (age 5-12) – for children who can’t yet ride without stabilisers
• Bikeability Level 1 (age 5-12) teaches bike control skills off road
• Bikeability Level 2 (age 9-12) get the skills to ride safely on road

We’re running these at venues in N19, N1 and NW3. For full details and to book, click here.

For adults
You can do a weekend course, if you are a beginner, or for improvers and advanced cyclists wanting to improve their road skills, book individual training.

For families
And to learn how to ride together as a family, you can book a family training session.

Save the date
The third Finsbury Park Festival of Cycling takes place on Sunday 14 June (12noon-6pm), where there will be loads of free cycle-related things to take part in.

Have a great Easter!

Best wishes

David Shannon
Cycling officer

A little extra

Extra children’s courses
Owing to demand, we’ve added a Level 1 Bikeability course to our half term programme and two beginners courses. For details and to book, go click here.

Adult beginner groups
There are also adult courses for beginners and improvers on 21 and 22 March. If you’re already riding on the roads and want more skills and confidence, you can book individual training.

Have a good holiday!

David

David Shannon
Cycling officer
Islington Council

Start the year on a roll

Dear cyclists

Happy 2015! We hope you enjoyed a wonderful festive season and are full of plans and resolutions to get cycling in the coming year.

Half term children’s Bikeability courses
We’re running a series of children’s courses in the February half term holiday. There are courses for: beginners (children who can’t ride a bike at all), Bikeability Level 1 (off road control skills) and Bikeability Level 2 (an introduction to road cycling). There are three venues to choose from and you can book here.

Weekend adult cycle training courses
Our popular series of adult group courses for beginners and improvers continues with more courses available in January and February.

Escape plans
If you’re looking for a really big cycling challenge to motivate you in 2015, our local cycling club, Islington CC, is running a 200km ride on 17 May. The ride is called The Great Escape and it starts and finishes in Islington, from the bicycle cafe, Look Mum No Hands!, in Old Street and takes in lots of lovely leafy lanes and villages in Essex. It costs £10 or less to enter.

Sky’s the limit
If 200km seems like way too much, British Cycling will be running their excellent series of free Sky Rides. These rides are set up for you to ride at a comfortable pace and a distance to suit you. Choose from: Sky Rides (traffic free mass rides), Sky Ride Local (led rides), Breeze Bike Rides (women’s rides) and Ride Social (social riding groups). This year the Sky Ride Local rides will include some Islington based rides.

Happy cycling!

David Shannon
Cycling officer
Islington Council
david.shannon@islington.gov.uk
020 7527 4082

Watch the Tour de France, go on a led ride, kids can learn to race and extra Bikeability places available

Tomorrow the Tour de France begins, with two days in Yorkshire and then on Monday, they will race from Cambridge to London, passing through the City. Here is the route and timings, if you want to watch live.

The Tour on screen

If you’re in town and take a seat at our famous bicycle cafe Look Mum, No Hands!, or you can also catch the action on big TV screens at Old Street Terrace, EC1V 1BE. This is an outside space inside/above Old Street roundabout. You access it next to the Old Street Tube entrance.

Forget the pros, here are some rides you can do!
12 July Join Islington Cycling Club on a free family-friendly ride around the borough. This will be a gentle 9 miles, with a rest stop. Children are welcome, but under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. Starts at 10am from Highbury Pools and finishes in Highbury Fields at noon, in time for the start of the Festival in the Fields. To book email secretary@islington.cc

28 June-3 August British Cycling are running a series of 50 free Sky Rides, at different levels of difficulty. There are prizes for taking part and you can book on at www.goskyride.com/london

Kids cycle racing coaching
Islington Cycling Club is running three free cycle racing taster sessions for 8-14 year olds. These will be with a British Cycling accredited coach and take place 10am-noon on 23, 30 July and 6 August. To book, email GoRide@islington.cc

Extra Bikeability courses
Our Islington Council free summer holiday Bikeability courses for children are almost fully booked. So we have added some extra courses for Beginners and Level 1. There are also a few Level 2 places available for 9-12 year olds. Book online.

News about our latest Bikeability courses, free festivals, Go Sky Ride led rides and Islington Cycling Club

Summer holiday Bikeability

Islington Council is running a series of courses in the summer holidays for children aged 5-12. There are courses for: beginners (children who can’t ride a bike at all), Bikeability Level 1 (off road control skills) and Bikeability Level 2 (an introduction to road cycling). There are three venues to choose from and you can book here.

Three free festivals

• Next week is Bike Week and you can get in the mood at the Finsbury Park Festival of Cycling on Sunday 15 June, 12noon-6pm. There will be race coaching for juniors, junior races (enter on the day), Rollapaluza (racing static bikes), Crazy Fun Bikes for kids, Dr Bikes, bike security marking, a led ride, pedal a smoothie, music and much more.
• There is also the Old Street Cycle Festival on Wednesday 11 June, 3.30pm-7pm. Free Exchanging Places, security marking and Dr Bike.
• Looking a little further forward, on the 12 July, 12noon-5pm, there is The Festival on the Fields sports event at Highbury Fields. And in the morning, you can enjoy a free led bike ride that is suitable for all the family with Islington Cycling Club. Children must be accompanied. It is free, but you must book your place in advance by emailingsecretary@islington.cc

Go Sky Ride!
And if you want to go out on some organised bikes rides, British Cycling are laying on 200 free Sky Rides in 2014. These are all graded for a level to suit you. There is even a ride on the morning of the Finsbury Park Festival of Cycling that takes you to the event!

Islington Cycling Club
If you’ve done some Sky Rides and are ready to go up a gear, join Islington Cycling Club. The club are now one year old and have quickly become the largest club (and friendliest) in north London!

Happy cycling!

David Shannon
Cycling officer
Islington Council
david.shannon@islington.gov.uk
020 7527 4082