Bike Week Back for 2010 with new headline sponsor

Bike Week, being held this year from 19-27 June, has announced that Team Green Britain, a movement founded by EDF Energy to promote sustainable lifestyles, has become its new headline sponsor ahead of this year’s event, which has the theme ‘Everyday cycling for everyone.’

According to its organisers, Team Green Britain Bike Week “will challenge people to rethink their everyday journeys and switch to cycling as the most convenient way to get around,” and claim that Team Green Britain’s 700,000-strong community “will not only help Bike Week reach more people than ever before, but the added number of events they bring could make this year’s Team Green Britain Bike Week the biggest yet.”

The sponsorship will also have an impact behind the scenes, with funding provided for 12 group mentoring workshops throughout Britain for new event organisers as well as those who have been involved before, a series of tailored Event Organiser Guides, and greater website functionality.

Philip Darnton, Chair of Cycling England, said: “This sponsorship from a high profile brand like EDF Energy’s Team Green Britain will help further mainstream cycling and recruit more people than ever during Bike Week. We hope the extra support for event organisers will inspire more events, helping people re-discover the benefits of a healthier, more convenient, greener lifestyle.”

Martin Stead, Head of Brand at EDF Energy, said: “As Britain’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity, we’re proud to be able to support Team Green Britain Bike Week, and we aim to promote cycling as an everyday healthy and practical lifestyle choice that can help the planet too.”

He added: “Team Green Britain aims to inspire the nation to work together and lower the nation’s carbon footprint by 2012. By getting back on our bikes, we can all play our part by reducing our own carbon footprints, while exercising and saving time and money too.”

The mentoring workshops are due to start early next month, and are designed to “provide inspiration as well as practical advice and support for everyone from existing organisers of large events to those just considering their first Dr Bike morning,” with event organisers able to sign up through the Bike Week website or by calling 0845 672 0661.

Meanwhile, event organiser guides have been launched which can be tailored to suit the type and size of events, whether large, medium or small, with two specific guides also targeted specifically at schools and workplaces. The guides promise “ideas and inspiration for organising and promoting events with a comprehensive checklist for a smooth-running event,” as well as advice from Team Green Britain event sustainability consultant, Toby Radcliffe regarding minimising the environmental impact of Bike Week events.

The relaunched Bike Week website, which goes live at 4pm this afternoon, features a new cycle calculator that will allow cyclists by working out how much money they’ve saved in petrol by choosing to use their bike instead of their car, as well as how much longer they can expect to live through cycling a set distance each day.

Bike Week, which provides an umbrella for locally organised initiatives and events across the UK, began as a grass roots organisation in 1923, and nowadays benefits from government funding and backing from the cycling community Cycling England and Cycling Scotland, Sustrans, CTC and Cyclenation.

Anyone wishing to organise a Bike Week event this year should in the first instance register and download an Event Organiser Guide from the website, or call 0845 612 0661, and free materials including posters, flyers, balloons and stickers can also be ordered.