Cycling Contacts

Throughout the UK there are lots of useful contacts who may be able to provide information about how and where to cycle in your area or, if you are an event organiser - offering advice, support, contacts and publicity.  For instance, Sustrans provide lots of information on off-road routes/cycle maps throughout the UK; British Cycling (Everday Cycling) have a useful discussion forum/newsletter; Cycle Nation has a local cycle group listings, and Cycling Experts provides information on regional cycle shops/dealers. 

As well as the websites listed below we have also provided a database of local cycling officer contacts - download it to find your nearest one and see if they can help you with your Team Green Britain Bike Week activities.

Listed below are some useful sources of information. Please click on the link to read more, and click on the logos to visit the websites.

If you were looking for information on our supporters click here or our celebrity supporters click here.

Bike Budi 
Bike for All
British Cycling
CTC
Cycling Experts
Cycle Nation
Cycling England
Cycling Scotland
Cytech
Local Authority Cycling/Sustainable Transport Officers
London Cycling Campaign
Sustrans
Transport for London (TfL)
Travelwise Northern Ireland  
Welsh Assembly Government

Bike Budi

Bike Budi's website is a great way of finding other cyclists in your area to cycle with, exchange tips and improve your own confidence when cycling. 

Bike For All

Bike for All contains all the information you wanted to know about cycling but didn't want to ask!  There are some excellent sources of information on there and links to all sorts of other bike related sites.

British Cycling

Everyday Cycling is an initiative run by British Cycling which introduces riders to a database of routes and personal riding logs and challenges. There is also a comprehensive, searchable database of routes, rides and events (taking place outside Bike Week), a Buddy Group forum to exchange ideas/advice.

In particular, their Wise Words section contains stacks of useful information about where to go riding around the UK, hints and tips on bike maintenance, how to enjoy your bike riding more, commuting, getting started, child carrying solutions, what to wear and much more. 

CTC

This is the UK's national cyclists' organisation with 70,000 members and affiliates in 250 clubs across the UK.  It is also the UK's oldest and largest cycling body.  CTC provide a comprehensive range of services, advice, events, local groups with a huge range of rides and protection for their members.  CTC also work to promote cycling by raising public and political awareness of its health, social and environmental benefits.

The website has a wealth of information about all aspects of cycling and a detailed page with further links. In particular the Go Cycling page has a useful information on Cycling Skills and Tips including advice for beginners, riding in a group (NB event organisers!), riding with young children and people with disabilities. 

A very useful page for event organisers is their advice on doing a charity ride (including fundraising advice)
 

The Cycling Experts

The Cycling Experts is a website presented by the Association of Cycle Traders and provides lots of useful information regarding cycling.  It helps you get back in the saddle, and gives you a guide for what to look for when buying a bike.  It also has a extensive search facility where you can find your nearest bike shop and details of Cytech - the bicycle industry's only recognised training and accreditation scheme for cycle mechanics and bike technicians. This could be very useful for an event organiser that needs to have basic bike maintenance skills.

Cycle Nation

This is the national federation of cycle campaign groups with lots of latest news and a useful search facility online so you can find your closest cycle group and/or your closest Bicycle User Group (BUG) ie. work-based cycle groups.

Cycling England

This is the national body for cycling in England which coordinates the development of cycling across the country.  It aims to create the conditions which will result in more people cycling, more safely, more often.  They have a useful website with lots of links to cycle training (Bikeability), health and promotion. Also listed are the 18 towns/cities that have been selected to receive additional funding for cycling initiatives - take a look to see if your town/city is one of these! 

Cycling Scotland

This is the national body for cycling in Scotland and it aims to bring cycling out from the fringes of everyday life into the mainstream.  They aim to integrate cycling into modern living as a sustainable mode of transport, a means of exercise, and a strong contributer to the Scottish tourist economy.  They look to achieve this through promoting public participation in cycling events, giving training to ensure people can cycle with confidence, and providing engineering services to ensure that cyclists are catered for on Scotland's roads and paths.

Their website includes useful event listings, news items, a comprehensive section on cycle training/education, and and information page giving hints and tips on cycling to work, choosing the right bike, choosing your route and much more. 

Cytech

Cytech is the bicycle industry’s only recognised training and accreditation scheme for bicycle mechanics. From the basics of bicycle maintenance to complex bike builds and servicing of the newest and most technical products, Cytech provides training and promotion of specialist technical skills.

Cytech has delivered over 6000 technical courses to over 3500 candidates, accrediting in excess of 2000 qualified mechanics throughout the UK over the past 15 years.

Cytech is more than simply training. It is now recognised by the industry and increasingly importantly consumers, as a benchmark brand, which accredits and promotes the skills of cycle mechanics.

Cycling officers will certainly be interested in hearing your plans for Team Green Britain Bike Week and might be able to help in a variety of ways - either with direct financial support or in kind contributions such as publicity.  They will be able to direct you to local sources of information on all aspects of cycling locally.  If your local cycling officer is yet to get something organised for Team Green Britain Bike Week, encourage them to get involved get the wheels in motion!

Database of local cycling officer contacts

London Cycling Campaign

This is the largest urban cycling organisation in the world providing membership, advice, campaigning, free rides and activities.  LCC members get a free magazine, third party insurance, discounts at bike shops, legal advice and details of free rides and social activities.  The advice page on their website contains lots of useful information about all aspects of cycling (that can be downloaded as pdfs) including: information on differnet types of bike, security, parking, disabled cycling, travelling with your bike and much more.

They also have a very useful list of all the bike hire locations in London.

Sustrans

Sustrans work on innovative and imaginative ways of overcoming the transport challenges affecting us all.  On their website you will find information on routes throughout the UK (National Cycle Network), a wide range of cycle route maps (showing traffic-free/quiet road routes) and information sheets, plus details of all the projects they are currently working on.

Explore their resources page which has a fully comprehensive listings, by region/group of cycling organisations, maps, research, cycle tourism, and a wide range of other resources.

Transport for London (TfL)

You’re better off by bike! Transport for London supports cycling through its Cycle London scheme, encouraging as many Londoners as possible to use their bikes.

There are lots of hints and tips on how to get started on the TfL website including cycle training and safety, maps and guides of London routes, and hints on events you can organise on their Bike Week page in the events section.  Visit their site here.

Travelwise Northern Ireland

Travelwise NI is a Roads Service initiative to encourage the use of sustainable transport options such as walking, cycling, public transport or car sharing.  Commuters can discover convenient transport options that save both time and money.  Employers can get help with devising a Travel Plan that meets your company's needs and schools can find out about a whole host of activities suitable for children.

Welsh Assembly Government

The Welsh Assembly Government is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Wales, including the economy, health, education, and local government.  The Welsh Assembly supports Bike Week as part of its Walking and Cycling Action Plan. Event organisers and participants can find ideas for cycling events on the Welsh Assembly website.  Visit their site here.