Riders assemble for a ride organized by the London Cycling Campaign, as part of Bike Week activities

Bike Week is a yearly international event, taking place in different countries throughout the world. It is typically a seven-day event that advocates bicycling for transportation.[1] The event has been steadily gaining popularity in Asian, American and European cities and countries over the past decade. Bike Week has been running in the UK since 1923.[2]

Bike Week typically takes place in the summer, and runs in the UK during the second week of June, following just after the international World Bicycle Day on 3 June.[3] Celebrities that have taken part in the past include Fearne Cotton, Olivia Williams, and Jeremy Vine.[4]

UK and Ireland

Bike Week, organized by Cycling UK, is an annual celebration to showcase cycling. Riding a bike can easily be a part of everyday life and Bike Week is designed to inspire people all over the UK to give cycling a try.[5] Bike Week takes place during the second week of June in the United Kingdom, with a parallel event in Ireland called National Bike Week.[6]

The aim is to encourage more people across the UK to try cycling by getting them out on their bikes. In 2019, Bike Week ran from Saturday, June 8 to Sunday, June 16.

The concept of Bike Week is "everyday cycling for everyone" and aims to encourage those who wouldn't normally cycle to get on their bikes. Any outing on a bike counts – whether that’s nipping around to a friend's house, cycling to work or school, enjoying a leisurely ride with the family, or tackling a cycling challenge.

Every year around 500 events[7] are registered as part of Bike Week, such as family-friendly rides, bike maintenance events, bike breakfasts and group rides, to name but a few. Around 300,000 extra people choose to take part every year, on top of the 2.4 million who already cycle regularly in the UK.[8]

A social media campaign runs through Bike Week called the #7DaysofCycling focusing on different cycling experiences and encouraging everyone to talk about their experiences and raise awareness of the benefits of cycling. Each day has a different theme, from cycling to work to the benefits of cycling on mental health.

Bike Week is traditionally launched with the annual APPCG bike ride through London, where MPs, peers, and influential members of the cycling industry attend a reception before riding through London. In 2019 this included the inaugural Bike Week summit[9] which was attended by the transport minister Michael Ellis.

United States

In the United States of America, May is recognized as Bike Month, and Bike to Work Week is always either the first or second full week of May. Austin, Boston, Pasadena, Portland, Roseville, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington are among the US cities that actively participate.

Canada

In Canada, Bike Week occurs in either May or June because Bike Month is typically from 25 May to 25 June.[10] Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Victoria and Halifax are among the cities that participated in 2009. Vancouver participates every year.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Commuter gripes could be solved by Bike Week | Cycling UK". www.cyclinguk.org. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  2. ↑ "Join Bike Week's #7daysofcycling | Cycling UK". www.cyclinguk.org. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  3. ↑ "World Bicycle Day, 3 June". www.un.org. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "BBC Presenter Jeremy Vine supports the launch of Bike Week 2018 | Cycling UK". www.cyclinguk.org. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  5. ↑ Farnham Herald MP Hunt on hand to launch new cycle trails 18 July 2018 "The opening of the five new trails coincided with Cycling UK's Bike Week and the national charity worked with the organizations to develop the .."
  6. ↑ "National Bike Week Ireland | 22 to 30 June 2019". www.bikeweek.ie. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  7. ↑ "Get involved | Cycling UK". www.cyclinguk.org. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  8. ↑ "Cycling Statistics". Cycling UK. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "New minister commits to active travel at Bike Week launch | Cycling UK". www.cyclinguk.org. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  10. ↑ "Discover the joy of biking - Bike Month". www.bikemonth.ca. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
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