British Cycling removes advice telling members not to ride during funeral for Queen Elizabeth II

British Cycling has now removed a section of its guidance for the period of National Mourning that “strongly recommended” all cyclists around the UK avoid riding during the Queen’s funeral and procession. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police has also advised cyclists to avoid closed road areas in London.

In British Cycling’s original article on guidance for the Period of National Mourning, it stated: "As a mark of respect to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, British Cycling’s guidance is that no formal domestic activities should take place on the day of the State Funeral, Monday 19 September. This includes cycle sport events, club rides, coaching sessions and community programmes (such as Breeze rides).

"British Cycling strongly recommends that anybody out riding their bike on the day of the State Funeral does so outside of the timings of the funeral service and associated processions, which will be confirmed later this week. Once published, we will share the details of those timings on this page.

"As the day of the State Funeral has been designated as a national bank holiday, in line with many other employers British Cycling will close for the day."

...however, the whole section titled 'Events and activities on the day of the State Funeral' has now been amended, with the new paragraph stating: "The date and time of the State Funeral will be confirmed in due course. British Cycling will provide further information on the implications for events and activities due to take place on this day once those details have been published." 

The exact reasoning for British Cycling's original advice for its members not to ride during the funeral service and processions nationwide is unclear, with some even speculating on social media that cyclists could be faced with hostility from other members of the public. road.cc has asked British Cycling for comment. 

Arrangements in London: what does it mean for cyclists? 

Parts of London are completely closed to motor vehicles as well as bicycles as Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is taken from to Buckingham Palace and then to Westminster Hall where she will lie in state for four days.

People from all over the UK and beyond have been flocking to London to join the huge queue to see the late Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, where she will lie in Westminster Hall. 

This has meant that various roads around Westminster and Buckingham Palace will be/are closed to cars with a huge police presence throughout the capital as forces have been asked to send officers from all over the country.

Transport for London (TfL) advises people to follow the Metropolitan Police Event Twitter feed (@MetPoliceEvents) but specifically stated about cyclists saying:

“Avoid the roads that are closed to motor traffic and use alternatives if possible. Central London will be very busy. It may be too crowded to cycle in some areas.

“Follow the instructions of stewards and police - you may need to dismount and walk at times.

“Cycleway 3 is suspended between Duke of Wellington Place and Northumberland Avenue. Follow the signed diversion.

“Some Santander Cycle Hire docking stations around Green Park, St James's Park, Whitehall and Westminster will be closed. Check before you travel using the live Santander Cycle docking station map. Download the Santander Cycles app from the App Store or Google Play.”

The Met Police Events Twitter feed is sharing what roads and areas are closed to vehicles every day, with a map showing what areas are closed highlighted in purple.

Today’s closures (Tuesday September 13) are shown below.

ROAD CLOSURES: Tuesday 13:

The following road closures will be in place from around 7am, where there will be no access for vehicles and cycles.

There is pedestrian access only. Bicycles can be pushed but not ridden within the zone. pic.twitter.com/c2OX3Eqtzh

— Metropolitan Police Events (@MetPoliceEvents) September 13, 2022

You may walk your bike through if you absolutely need to go through these closed areas, but queues are expected to be multiple miles long with people having joined the queue as early as yesterday. Crowds will be large and it's expected that it will take a long time to walk through.

The late Queen will be lying in state in Westminster Hall for four days before being taken to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral that will take place on Monday September 19.

We will update further on this article and on our live blog as more information comes in, and we've asked British Cycling for further comment on its advice.