Monday 3 October 2011

A huge thumbs-up for Cycletta North... Who'd have thought it?

Cycletta North, the womens-only 40km cycling event took place yesterday at Tatton Park, Cheshire and the day was a great success. It was quite an inspirational sight to see over 800 women together on the start-line, most of whom had never taken part in a cycling event before.

I had offered to help out at the event as a 'Miss Motivator' and mobile support - basically riding the course, offering encouragement to the riders and being on hand to fix punctures and other small tasks that didn't require the help of a full-on mechanic.

I have to say that prior to the event, despite my offer to help out, I had my reservations about the whole Cycletta set-up because the entry fee was so expensive compared to other 'non-gender specific' sportives (initially advertised at £45) but I wanted to offer my support anyway because there just aren't enough womens events out there and I feel that any events company trying to change that deserves to be supported.

Initially the event was advertised as 'closed-road', which partially justified the high entry fee of £45. Lots of my local female cycling friends decided not to enter the event due to the high cost and the ones that did enter were pretty disappointed to hear that a number of weeks before the event the organisers lost the closed-road status. To reflect this, the entry fee was reduced by a fiver to £40, but to many entrants the closed-road status was the main selling point of this event, so it was hard to see how Cycletta could still justify the high price-tag and make this event something special - even the draw of cycling alongside event patron Victoria Pendleton didn't seem quite worth 40 quid.

Well I can happily report that I was proved wrong and my skepticism was completely unfounded because as cycling events go it was probably one of the best-organised I've attended. As soon as I arrived at the event it was pretty obvious to see where much of the entry fee had been spent as the organisers had created a cycling village with a cafe area, bike mechanics, shops and a post-race pampering tent all geared up toward women cyclists, creating a friendly pre and post ride environment with a really sociable vibe.

The fairly flat course was really suited to first-time eventers with only one or two challenging hills and a small amount of traffic to deal with. It was well signposted with marshalls at every junction and a further three marshalls patrolling the course on motorbikes. The two feed stations (rare to get two over a 40km distance) were pretty well-stocked with fruit, energy drinks and hi-carb snacks.

As I rode around the course chatting to the riders everyone was in really high spirits and enjoying the event. Many of the women were doing the ride for charity with groups of friends and colleagues and the relaxed atmosphere was a welcome world away from the usually more competitive 'heads down' approach of many other sportives. At the second feed station I stopped for a while to have a chat with some of the riders and despite a few sore bums and tired legs all of the comments were really positive. Most were thrilled to discover that they only had 5 more miles to go to the finish but all said they'd had a really great day and that they'd be keen to sign up again next year.

It was also great to see patron Victoria Pendleton - fresh from her gold medal winning performance at the national track championships the night before - staying around for the whole event, hanging out in the cycling village after riding the course, signing autographs and posing for photos.

Cycletta has definitely filled a female-shaped gap in the cycling event world and I hope this year's events are the first of many more to come - keep up the good work guys!

http://www.cycletta.co.uk/

Monday 8 August 2011

Cycling sisters get 100 women on their bikes for charity


Last month I had the privilege of joining a group of more than 100 women riding 100 miles across Yorkshire in order to raise money for Marie Curie.The weather on the day was a dull and wet, not what you’d hope for on a July Sunday, but the rain didn’t dampen spirits and many of the participants described both the day, and the training leading up to it, as a life-changing event.

The event’s success was all down to the hard work of two sisters, Claire Macina and Adele Wilkin from Ben Rhydding near Ilkley, Yorkshire.


The sisters organised the event to raise money for their local Marie Curie hospice in Bradford in order to show their appreciation for the care and support the hospice has given to their terminally ill mum, Sheila.


Adele, a volunteer fundraiser at the hospice says, “Mum has lived with cancer for 17 years and always faced the treatment with a positive attitude, but in November 2009 she took a turn for the worse. The Marie Curie Hospice turned her around and I think that without their help mum would have lost her will to live a long time ago, it’s such an amazing place.”


A member of staff at their local cycle shop, JD Cycles in Ilkley, suggested getting 100 women together to ride 100 miles and the idea was born. Claire and Adele hoped that by asking each of the participants to raise £100, they’d be able to reach their fundraising target of £10,000. An article in the local evening paper gave the sisters a publicity boost, and by March, 125 women had signed up for the event, many of whom were new to cycling.


What amazed me the most was the amount of novice riders who signed up. Many have changed their whole lives by taking up cycling for the first time, says Adele.

She adds, “Lots of ladies have lost weight and got fitter, including myself – I’ve lost 32lb!”


The route from Ilkley to Selby and back via Wetherby and York, took advantage of the traffic-free cycle network that runs between York and Selby on a disused railway line, providing an ideal environment for novice cyclists to build up to the event. Training rides were set up prior to the race and many of the participants met regularly, increasing their mileage month by month in preparation for the big day and forging new friendships along the way.


The event took over a year to organise and the sisters overcame quite a few challenges along the way.

Adele says, “We knew that many of the riders had started out as novices and we were concerned that on the day people would get lost or even injured.


She adds, “Marking out the route markings was a challenge - it took three days in total, but the support provided by our team of volunteers ensured the ride was fully supported on the day and our out-riders helped with over 30 punctures.”


Claire and Adele (pictured) led the ride out together from JD Cycles and both described the start as emotional. “We had a huge sense of relief that we’d done it and could just enjoy the ride.


Claire adds, “There were some goose-bumpy moments, we chatted to lots of riders along the route and they all had their personal reasons for supporting Marie Curie.”


There were tears of joy at the finish line for many of the participants who were welcomed back home to Ilkley by a cheering crowd of family and friends.


One competitor says, "It’s been an amazing journey of blood, sweat and tears but one I will remember for ever"


The great news is that although Claire and Adele initially aimed to raise £10,000 for the hospice, their total amount is closer to £20,000, and the sponsor money is still rolling in.


And would they be tempted to do it all again?

“Absolutely!” says Adele.


“We already have two sponsors lined up for next year’s event and it’s taking place on July 15.”


If you’d like to find out more about next year’s event email Claire or catch up with the group on their Facebook page.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Eat Sleep Cycle...

Anna Hughes has just embarked on a round-the-UK cycle tour and commenced the first leg of her journey at London's Tower Bridge yesterday.

Anna is travelling around the UK in an anti-clockwise direction and plans to sticks as close to the coastline as possible.

You can follow Anna on her journey and read all about her adventures on her blog Eat Sleep Cycle.

Good Luck Anna!

Monday 1 August 2011

Hello!...

Well, this site is still very much in its infancy but it has high aspirations.

After living in four different UK cities over the past few years I've realised that there are lots of women cycling out there at all levels, but even though we're growing in number sometimes being a female cyclist can feel quite isolating as it's still such a male-dominated sport in terms of coverage and advertising.

Every day women are out on their bikes, whether commuting to work, cycling with the kids on a Sundays, taking part in local club road races and time trials or negotiating tricky single tracks on the MTB.

The Cycletopia blog is all about celebrating these different aspects of cycling, and in particular, women's cycling.

Alongside information on our workshops and bike training, the other links on the site will provide information about local groups and clubs across the UK and other useful stuff about fashion, the environment, fitness... in fact anything involving women and bikes.

Stay tuned...