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Sky Rides return to 12 cities for final year
Sky Ride events have been announced for 12 British Cities between June and September – but this will be the final installation of the event as Sky and British Cycling end their eight year partnership.
The mass participation, family-friendly bike rides will see city centres across the country closed to motor traffic for a few hours so people of all ages can feel safe cycling on the streets, and this year will see the millionth person participate in the popular events.
Four cities that held events last year – Plymouth, Bolton, Newcastle Gateshead and Hull – won’t take part this year, while Glasgow joins, after not taking part last year.
Sky to end eight-year partnership with British Cycling
Sir Chris Hoy, Sky Ride ambassador, said: "I’m delighted to be involved again in this year’s Sky Ride campaign. Over the past eight years, tens of thousands of local cyclists have taken to the streets as a result of the successful British Cycling and Sky partnership and we look forward to making 2016 the biggest and best yet."
Ian Murray, head of brand, cycling and Team Sky said: "We’re thrilled that Sky Ride has returned and that so many people across the UK will get the chance to enjoy cycling through their town or city on traffic-free streets. 1.7 million Brits now cycle regularly as a result of our eight year partnership with British Cycling and this year will see the one millionth rider take part in Sky Ride. Together we want to continue to inspire even more people to get out on their bikes and enjoy the sport.’
Sky and British Cycling say the decision not to renew the partnership was because the events’ aims were achieved, and other goals are now in focus.
Among British Cycling’s current targets are to get a million more women into cycling by 2020, and transforming Britain into a “true cycling nation” by improving infrastructure for anyone who wants to get around by bike. There will continue to be Sky Ride Local, Ride Social and Breeze Rides for women.
Although most proceed hitch-free, Birmingham cancelled its 2014 and 2015 Sky Ride events due to clashes with an Ashes test match at Edgbaston and redevelopment work taking place in the city, and is not participating again this year.
The following cities will hold Sky Ride events in 2016:
Sky Ride Bradford: Sunday 5 June
Sky Ride Southampton: Sunday 12 June
Sky Ride Bristol: Sunday 19 June
Sky Ride Sheffield: Sunday 3 July
Sky Ride Manchester: Sunday 10 July
Sky Ride Leeds: Sunday 17 July
Sky Ride Coventry: Sunday 7 August
Sky Ride Ipswich: Sunday 14 August
Sky Ride Liverpool: Sunday 21 August
Sky Ride Leicester: Sunday 28 August
Sky Ride Glasgow: Sunday 4 September
Sky Ride York: Sunday 11 September
Participants will get a free reflective Sky Ride bib, and a free bike check at Halfords worth £14.99.
Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.
Latest Comments
- joules1975 1 sec ago
Glad I wasn't the only one that thought 'eh?'....
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Dame Laura Kenny is going to be one of the Today programmes guest editors over Christmas. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2024/today-programme...
- S.E. 1 hour 45 min ago
That made me think of that "Hot Fuzz" comedy movie... so many truths in it.
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Good to see a V-brake option available for all those people who ride Cosmic Elites with V-brakes...seriously, you must know really that the answer...
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Get thyself over to Buildhub - a community owned forum where I am on the moderation team ("Ferdinand") which is about self-build and renovation....
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Nonono, not those, but those that have constructed Italian cars and motorcycles that have been driven to hundreds of race and championship...
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This may well be the case although Im unaware of the brands popularity on their home turf. I used to see them being advertised more in the UK...
- qwerty360 14 hours 58 min ago
Arguably sticking it in a bank account is bad....
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I'd counter that those brakes were in fact so inadequate that they eventually developed a whole new type of bicycle that was actually suited for it...
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11 comments
If this is the last year that Sky are doing it, has any other huge corporation stepped up to take over sponsorship or are we going to go back to locally organised rides...?
Previously Manchester's SkyRide has gone around the Sportcity area and the Man City Etihad Stadium. But this year it's on the same day as the "We Love Manchester 10k" which also takes place there (starting and finishing on the athletics track), starting at about the same time. So that could be interesting.
Lst year I got caught up in the Bristol Sky Ride on my commute to work and had all the young kids overtaking me obviously going for Strava KoMs and it'll be the same this year.
Hope the BBBR comes back for 2017.
I highly doubt there was anyone going for KoMs given the complete lack of Ms...
Nice late time to start to work though, normal commute must be pretty relaxed.
"...expert bike check at Halfords"
.
Birmingham cancelled the event because they hate cycling and cyclists.
Anyone needing evidence of the above only needs to look at he latest bit of "cycling infrastructure" on Corporation Street.
That they somehow conned central Government into giving them a pot of money for cycling is either an impressive feat of legerdemain, or a sad indictment in central Govt's auditing of the bids.
It's a shame that the Bristol Sky Ride replaced what was previously known as Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride. They reduced the length of the ride massively which effectively made it far more focussed on kids/families whereas previously there was a choice of about four different routes with the longest being around 40 miles (if memory serves). I don't mind encouraging kids/families, but it was nice to have a much wider range of abilities all cycling on the same day.
I agree with this. The original Bristol's biggest big ride showed how this type of event can be done so well if the local council try (a legacy of the cycling city project). I guess they had to cut costs and go for the cheaper sponsored option. At least this year's skyride is longer following the feedback but still not a patch on BBBR.
Apparently this year you can ride on closed roads from Millennium Square to Bridge Valley Road. And you can do it as many times as you like!
The year before it became a Sky Ride I did closed roads from Millennium Square out halfway along the Portway, then on the cycle path and up over the M5 bridge, then through Pill and Portbury and up to Tyntesfield, then out the other side and back along Festival Way. The Tyntesfield Twenty, twenty miles. Fun, even in the rain.
Hey-Ho, but now I can ride to Bridge Valley Road and back again (or, as I like to call it, the boring bit of my daily commute...).
"the events’ aims were achieved"
Aims must have included:
1. That the only place considered suitable for cycling is a closed road, and that this will be offered to you once a year on a Sunday morning when the important motorists aren't about
2. Giving the general public the impression that cycling on a closed road at 5MPH is such a horrifically dangerous activity that you need body armour to do so
3. Give the public the impression that sharing said closed roads with other non-motorised road users requires you to dress in garb appropriate for 70MPH highway workers
4. To further indoctrinate our children and parents that it's a dangerous world, best kept at arm's length with a pay-TV subscription from your benevolent friends at Newscorp.
UK cities love Skyrides. Boxes ticked: Cycling encouraged, Children active, Adults active, pollution reduced, active travel top of the agenda.
(never mind the other 364.5 days)
Stockholm Syndrome much eh UK?
My thoughts too.
But it's a great bit of marketing Sky for and good publicity for hi-viz and helmet manufacturers (though I see that some helmetless psychopaths have crept into the image. Can't they be photoshopped?). Look at all the yellow sheep, baaaaa!