Showing posts with label event. Show all posts
Showing posts with label event. Show all posts
Monday, 2 May 2016
Manchester World Naked Bike Ride 2016
Manchester's 10th World Naked Bike Ride, meet at 6pm Friday 10th June at All Saints Park, Oxford Road. Ride sets off at 7pm.
Sunday, 14 June 2015
Sign up for CycleHack MCR
CycleHack MCR takes place next weekend, from 6pm on Friday 19th to 8pm on Sunday 21st June at SpaceportX, 24/26 Lever Street, Manchester,
M1 1DZ.
What is a CycleHack?
CycleHack focuses on bringing people and their places together to discuss and generate solutions to barriers that stop or inhibit people from cycling. A ‘Cyclehack’ is an idea that can be prototyped and tested in the city that addresses a barrier to cycling. Hacks can be physical products, digital apps, ideas for new campaigns or even influence policy and can consider local infrastructure and route maps.
CycleHack is part of a global movement and is taking place in 25 cities around the world.
There are two ways to participate:-
For those who have the time to be involved in the full weekend and take part in the CycleHack, Full Weekend tickets mean you have access to the whole of the CycleHack event.
For people who can only spare a few hours there are Show and Tell tickets which give you access to Friday and Sunday of the event to see the CycleHack Speakers on Friday evening and the CycleHack Presentations on Sunday afternoon.
The programme for the weekend is as follows
So, sign up now and get involved.
M1 1DZ.
What is a CycleHack?
CycleHack focuses on bringing people and their places together to discuss and generate solutions to barriers that stop or inhibit people from cycling. A ‘Cyclehack’ is an idea that can be prototyped and tested in the city that addresses a barrier to cycling. Hacks can be physical products, digital apps, ideas for new campaigns or even influence policy and can consider local infrastructure and route maps.
CycleHack is part of a global movement and is taking place in 25 cities around the world.
CycleHack Short Edit from CycleHack on Vimeo.
There are two ways to participate:-
For those who have the time to be involved in the full weekend and take part in the CycleHack, Full Weekend tickets mean you have access to the whole of the CycleHack event.
For people who can only spare a few hours there are Show and Tell tickets which give you access to Friday and Sunday of the event to see the CycleHack Speakers on Friday evening and the CycleHack Presentations on Sunday afternoon.
The programme for the weekend is as follows
So, sign up now and get involved.
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Popup Bike Jumble
Popup Bikes is an odd-ball bike place in an archway under the tram lines in Corporation Street, near the new Coop building. Dipak, who runs it, has an easygoing but entrepreneurial attitude mixed in with a large helping of social purpose. What with the film nights and photo exhibitions the place is almost like an unofficial/alternative Manchester bike centre
This Saturday Popup Bikes hosted a bike jumble.
It was small in scale, compared to the events at the velodrome.
There were a few bikes for sale as well as parts and accessories,
But on a sunny Saturday afternoon it seemed to end up as much a social event as a commercial one.
When I dropped in again at the end of the day the conclusion was it had gone well, so it may be the first of many.
This Saturday Popup Bikes hosted a bike jumble.
It was small in scale, compared to the events at the velodrome.
There were a few bikes for sale as well as parts and accessories,
But on a sunny Saturday afternoon it seemed to end up as much a social event as a commercial one.
When I dropped in again at the end of the day the conclusion was it had gone well, so it may be the first of many.
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Pedal Power at Pride
Looking at the floats lining up in Liverpool Road I only found one pedal powered participant.
I like the fact that there's a fire extinguisher on board, was someone not confident of the state of their wiring...
Sadly all the other floats on wheels were lorries or cars.
I like the fact that there's a fire extinguisher on board, was someone not confident of the state of their wiring...
Sadly all the other floats on wheels were lorries or cars.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Manchester Sky Ride 2012
Manchester Sky Ride is unfortunately becoming an annual reason for drivers and shoppers in Manchester to resent cycling. On the 15th July lots of roads in the city will be closed off so that News International can plaster the city centre with banners advertising for their UK TV wing, BSkyB.
The route is extensively barriered too, so shoppers have to walk miles to get to their destination and drivers have someone, other than themselves, to blame for the traffic jams in town. There is nothing interesting to look at most of the time. It is not as if the city is hosting the finish of a bike race or a bike parade like the rather wonderful Manchester Day.
Sky Ride is one of those events where lots of drivers strap bikes onto their cars and drive into Manchester so they can have a few hours cycling in the city centre, dressed up in helmets and ugly yellow advertising bibs before driving home again to their car-dominated suburbs where they hardly ever cycle. Far from improving the image of cycling, it promotes the idea that cycling is dangerous and strange.
Sky ride is a fine example of transport tokenism as the council spends ten times more money on funding sports facilities for British Cycling (funded by Sky and car firm Fiat) than it does on making the streets of Manchester attractive for cycling. After all this Labour council would not dare risk being seen as anti-motorist. I am waiting to find out just how much this event will cost the City Council. UPDATE: FoI request sets the city council's costs at £72,000.
Last year it was a relief to see that a few people struck out against the corporate crap and got to the point with banners pointing out the problem. Let's hope the message gets out more strongly this year.
As well as these one off events, why can't the council close Deansgate to motor vehicles every weekend? It would make the place come alive with people rather than being a weekend-long traffic jam.
The route is extensively barriered too, so shoppers have to walk miles to get to their destination and drivers have someone, other than themselves, to blame for the traffic jams in town. There is nothing interesting to look at most of the time. It is not as if the city is hosting the finish of a bike race or a bike parade like the rather wonderful Manchester Day.
Sky Ride is one of those events where lots of drivers strap bikes onto their cars and drive into Manchester so they can have a few hours cycling in the city centre, dressed up in helmets and ugly yellow advertising bibs before driving home again to their car-dominated suburbs where they hardly ever cycle. Far from improving the image of cycling, it promotes the idea that cycling is dangerous and strange.
Sky ride is a fine example of transport tokenism as the council spends ten times more money on funding sports facilities for British Cycling (funded by Sky and car firm Fiat) than it does on making the streets of Manchester attractive for cycling. After all this Labour council would not dare risk being seen as anti-motorist. I am waiting to find out just how much this event will cost the City Council. UPDATE: FoI request sets the city council's costs at £72,000.
Last year it was a relief to see that a few people struck out against the corporate crap and got to the point with banners pointing out the problem. Let's hope the message gets out more strongly this year.
As well as these one off events, why can't the council close Deansgate to motor vehicles every weekend? It would make the place come alive with people rather than being a weekend-long traffic jam.
Monday, 4 June 2012
Pirates on the Mancunian Way
Today was the Great Manchester Cycle event in which lots of people paid money to ride against the clock whilst conforming to a set of strict rules. Not my idea of a fun day out, and anyway, when I asked I was told that my 4-wheeler was banned from the ride, so that put paid to any idea of taking the sound system. Not that I own a qualifying hard hat either.
Despite the monotony of cyclists dressed up as mobile advertising hoardings, a few participants did stand out from the crowd. I spotted a couple of three-wheelers, one recumbent in fetching pink sporting the skull and crossbones.
The other a rather nice green handcycle.
In the two-wheeled class was this machine, where the rider can't sit down.
No chance of saddle sores there!
And these two gents riding these lovely scaled down machines who gave a shout and a wave as they rode past.
And I spotted one, just one, participant in the ride who managed to buck the trend of monotonous headgear.
For the rest of us the opportunity to ride the Mancunian way was too much of an opportunity to let pass and the marshals didn't seem to object to the presence of non-participants on the route.
After all, it was pretty easy to spot the riders with bare heads, no numbers and in most cases a more leisurely approach to cycling.
Though one thing that struck me was how much of the time the closed off roads were empty, it seemed such a waste of a good road closure. Also, as the video below shows, there were, unfortunately, rather a lot of motorbikes on the route too.
------
A Grim North was also in the area...
Despite the monotony of cyclists dressed up as mobile advertising hoardings, a few participants did stand out from the crowd. I spotted a couple of three-wheelers, one recumbent in fetching pink sporting the skull and crossbones.
The other a rather nice green handcycle.
In the two-wheeled class was this machine, where the rider can't sit down.
No chance of saddle sores there!
And these two gents riding these lovely scaled down machines who gave a shout and a wave as they rode past.
And I spotted one, just one, participant in the ride who managed to buck the trend of monotonous headgear.
For the rest of us the opportunity to ride the Mancunian way was too much of an opportunity to let pass and the marshals didn't seem to object to the presence of non-participants on the route.
After all, it was pretty easy to spot the riders with bare heads, no numbers and in most cases a more leisurely approach to cycling.
Though one thing that struck me was how much of the time the closed off roads were empty, it seemed such a waste of a good road closure. Also, as the video below shows, there were, unfortunately, rather a lot of motorbikes on the route too.
------
A Grim North was also in the area...
Monday, 7 May 2012
Bike Trailer Sound Systems
A couple of bike trailer sound systems appeared on Market Street today, following on from the morning's Mayday March.
The other was a commercially built speaker and amp.
The other was a commercially built speaker and amp.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Moving Planet Day - 24th September
From MERCi
From The Environment Network For Manchester
P.S. If you visit the Environment Network For Manchester web site you might notice that the latest Roots Newsletter features a photo from this blog...
In Manchester we are asking people to meet at 10.30am outside the Royal Bank of Scotland building at 1 Spinningfields Square (there is space to congregate in between RBS and the John Rylands Library) where a member of the MERCi staff will be waiting to show people the way to Bridge 5 Mill.
As part of the day we want to showcase alternatives to fossil fuels and are running a competition to see who can arrive at the event by the most unusual and interesting way without using fossil fuels, as well as giving prizes for the most blinged-up bikes (and owners!). Competitors need to assemble on the green between Piercy Street, Beswick Street, Carruthers Street and the Ashton Canal around 11am for judging at 11.30am. The competition is open to all and there will be prizes for kids and adults.
From The Environment Network For Manchester
FREE WORKSHOPS (limited places, booking essential)
12.30pm - Bike Know How with Pedal MCR - punctures
1.30pm - Bike Know How with Pedal MCR - brakes
2.30pm - Save Energy, Save Money
To book onto the workshops please contact Katie Brandon: 0161 273 1736 or katieb@merci.org.ukFREE FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS FROM 12 NOON
Plus exhibition, games and information stalls
P.S. If you visit the Environment Network For Manchester web site you might notice that the latest Roots Newsletter features a photo from this blog...
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