DAM, THAT’S A LOT OF BIKES

In September I was fortunate enough to visit the Netherlands to meet Romee Nicolai, the Bicycle Mayor of Amsterdam, and the team at BYCS, an Amsterdam-based global NGO supporting community-led urban change through cycling.

Whilst in Amsterdam, I visited the BYCS headquarters and it was amazing to see the incredible work that they do with Bicycle Mayors all over the world.

The city is full of bikes, bikes and more bikes, with amazing cycling infrastructure to match. The bike parking in Amsterdam is like nothing I have ever seen before. I visited one bike park that was home to over 6,000 bikes!

After speaking with the Mayor at length, it’s clear we had a lot in common as regards the future of cycling, bike mechanics, sustainability, and community. Seeing the many similarities in the challenges we face, it was very inspiring trip and I’m looking forward to working with Romee in the future. I’ve come back with a tonne of ideas to instil community-led urban change through cycling across Greater Manchester.

I would urge anyone to check out the city, you won’t be disappointed. See what I got up to via the link below.

A CATALYST FOR CHANGE 

Recently I was featured in the Manchester Metropolitan University’s ‘Aah’ Magazine Freshers Issue.

I was delighted to share my mission to make cycling inclusive and accessible for all. As Manchester celebrates becoming the first European Capital of Cycling, our work is central to driving forward change in our city and putting Manchester on the global stage.

However, another key mission of mine is to increase the number of women and girls cycling and the visibility of under-represented groups. So I also wanted to use this unique opportunity to share the history of cycling for women and girls.

From the ‘bicycle boom’ of the 1800’s, to infrastructure challenges still felt today, throughout history women have had to fight to ride the bicycle. I want to tell that story.

Read my full piece via the link below.

LIGHTS UP MANCHESTER

For the second year running, Bee Pedal Ready and Station South are joining bike forces to bring glowing wheeling women to the dark streets and parks of Manchester – Lights Up, encore!

Along with my friends and partners in this space, I want to bring awareness to the significant drop in the number of female cyclists through the darker and winter months.

To combat this drop, Bee Pedal Ready and Station South are offering ‘feeder rides’ to and from the city, where we’ll ride in as a group to meet a plethora of amazing women of all ages at All Saint’s Park, forming the ‘main ride’.

The event will also feature a ‘bike disco’ ride, weaving across the city as a pack before heading south, towards and through 3 different parks, before wheeling our way over to the astounding Victoria Baths for brews, hot food and a bike party!

Find out more and get involved via the link below.

BLACK UNITY

I was delighted to join friends and tonnes of the local community for the Black Unity Bike Ride in August.

The Black Unity Bike Ride aims inspire the Black community to be active and prioritise health and wellbeing by embracing a variety of wellness practices including cycling and other activities.

As GM Bicycle Mayor, I’m committed to ensuring there is more diversity in the cycling industry and opportunities for all.

The ride gave me some beautiful memories on what was an amazing day celebrating diversity, music, wellness, culture, colour and cycling.

Was incredible to be a part of this carnival on wheel, I loved every minute. I can’t wait to be part of future events and would like to bring an event to Manchester.

Learn more about Black Unity Bike Ride via the link below.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

October is Black History Month, and this year I’ve been shining a light on inspirational black figures in the cycling world throughout history.

Across my Instagram page, you’ll find a series of posts on incredible black women and men, and the barriers and challenges they’ve faced, yet overcome.

For example I first focus on Kitty Knox, a woman that many people don’t know about.

Kitty was a trailblazing female cyclist who fought racial and gender barriers. Her resilience, formidable strength, and continuation of challenging race and gender barriers, and who stood up to the cycling authorities in the 1890s.

She is the inspiration for Bee Pedal Ready and many women of all cultures around the world.

Read more about her story, and other inspirational black people on my Instagram page, link below.

WYTHENSHAWE GAMES

During the Summer, it was amazing to be a part of  the Wythenshawe Games.

The Games are such a fantastic community event every year, with lots of activities for all the family!

Whilst there, I helped a tonne of young people with bike maintenance and general advice around cycling.

Thanks for the invite, same again next year please!

TRAILBLAZERS!

I’ve been working closely with Nacro Outdoor Learning in recent months to utilise the powerful nature of active learning outside for all ages.

Nacro share my belief that cycling enables everyone to have fun, adventure and challenge themselves.

In September I had fantastic day at the Wythenshawe Park MTB Trails.

I led the first of our ‘Women’s Intro to Mountain Biking’ in collaboration with Nacro Outdoor Learning, introducing new skills to the group and helping them gain confidence with Mountain Biking.

More women and young girls are needed in the MTB sector, so it is amazing to be a part of watching this grow!

Learn more about the amazing work by Nacro Outdoor Learning via the link below.

GET INVOLVED

To stay in touch with everything I do and to get involved, make sure to follow me across social or email beepedalready@gmail.com