Ballgowns at the ready! Sustrans is at it again - trying to get more women cycling by encouraging them to wear dresses and high heels on their bikes.
The sustainable transport charity has organised a one-off cycling day-out in Edinburgh, challenging women (and men) to wear their favourite and most glamorous outfits, and offering prizes for the best bling!
Sustrans recently launched its www.bikebelles.org.uk website as part of its campaign to get female cycling numbers up. The site is full of top tips on how to cycle without ruining your look, as worries about what to wear, hat hair and getting hot under the collar are apparently key issues for many women considering cycling as a regular way of getting around.
Ballgowns might be pushing it a little (imagine the scene - a Tour de France style pileup littered with ripped taffetta and scuffed stilettos) but glamour is certainly possible on a bicycle and this event is designed to prove it.
Gina Alcock, Sustrans Events Officer in Scotland, said: “We’re really keen to show that whether by wearing heels, your favourite skirt or by putting flowers in your hair, cycling can be beautiful.
“Many of us girls tend to worry that by pedalling to work, to the shops or to see friends we’ll arrive in a mess, but that’s hardly ever the case. Cycling is one of the easiest ways to get fit and feel good - and there is no need to compensate on style.”
Men are also invited to join the ride, which starts at Haymarket Yards, next to Haymarket Rail Station, on May 31 at 12pm. It will last about one-and-a-half hours along National Cycle Network routes to the north of the city centre. There will be prizes for the most glamorous riders and also a ‘Bling Your Bike’ competition to find the most dressed up bike.
Sustrans launched its campaign to get more women cycling in March including a new website www.bikebelles.org.uk with practical advice on how to get cycling. The campaign follows research showing that men are three times more likely to cycle than women.
Riders can turn up on the day or sign up in advance by calling Gina Alcock on 0131 523 0196 or emailing gina.alcock [at] sustrans.org.uk
Yes - you keep them in a box with an X on a map to mark the spot
Bro needs to be in primary position.
To answer your question, yes you can sometimes feel the difference. Built a set of wheels for a friend and he installed them with new lightweight...
Cycling infrastructure does not force drivers to break the law, drivers are the reason they break the law, no one else.
Ah but taking pictures of things to defy the man (avoid a fine) is righteous. Taking pictures of people to grass on them to the cops (perhaps...
As a woman, this works great for me! My chain broke once, and a kind guy stopped with a chain breaker and sorted it all out for me. We stopped at a...
Same. I also have gone through a bunch of their tyres, and only the extralight disappointed (torn sidewall) but the standards are fantastic....
thanks for the ideas....
Indeed - but it's no more inconsistent than our current road design - very often UK high streets are "for shopping" and also a busy through route....
If you ask the world's leading economic commentators how many people have been rescued from abject poverty by capitalism the average answer would...