With Pedal on Parliament coming up next weekend here is news of another cycling event in the capital next month.
Edinburgh prides itself on being the City of Festivals and has ambitions to be a Cycling City. Combining these is the inaugural Edinburgh Festival of Cycling, which will run from 15 -23 June 2013. It aims to be an inclusive event, offering a wide range of cultural events and physical activities to encompassing all aspects of the bicycle and cycling culture, from leisure to sport, with exhibitions, talks, bike rides and much more.
The Edinburgh Festival of Cycling will be launched on the evening of Friday 14 June with a 24 Hour SpinTM at LifesCycle indoor cycling studio on Newhaven Road. From there on, it’s an action-packed nine days of events, with something for everyone.
Highlights include several high-profile speakers: urban mobility expert Mikael Colville-Andersen, known as Copenhagen’s bicycle ambassador and the founder of the Cycle Chic movement, will be flying in fresh from the VeloCity conference in Vienna to give a keynote talk on Bicycle Culture by Design at the Assembly Hall on the Mound on 15 June. Wednesday 19 June brings Mark Beaumont’s highly anticipated talk at the Queen’s Hall, while Saturday 22 June offers a unique opportunity to hear from Juliana Buhring, the fastest woman to cycle the world and the first to set a world record by doing so.
The Festival offers a whole range of events, on and off the bike, from free family events such as the launch of the SKELF bike skills park planned for Braidwoods (near St Leonards) and a Cycle Speedway taster for children at Redbraes Park Cycle Speedway (both taking place on Saturday 15 June), to rides for adventurous adults such as the Edinburgh’s Hidden Mountain Biking Country ride.
There will be exhibitions of photography from Freelance Sports photographer Pete Goding, the best selling author of Mountain High and nominee for Best Illustrated Sports Book 2012, ‘From the Tour de France to Mountain High’ exhibition at Newhaven Communications. Another free photographic exhibition will be ‘Monumental Motion’ by Mikael Colville-Andersen, hosted at The Hub.
Further cultural highlights include: a display of historic cycling maps from the Bartholomew Archive at the National Library of Scotland. Bike Slam!, the world’s first ever cycling poetry slam at the Forest Café, and a performance of the poetry and music from the 1957 Flying Scot artists book, which features a crown of sonnets by Rab Wilson, a suite of music by Ben Bryden and linocut images by Hugh Bryden, all centred around a classic Scottish racing bicycle.
Outdoor philosopher Kate Rawles will be talking about her book The Carbon Cycle: Crossing the Great Divide on her journey across North America. The cinematic arts are represented with a showing of the film Janapar: Love on a Bike at the Balerno Village Screen, and a wide range of short films being shown on the Big Screen in Festival Square.
The Festival offers a series of workshops, with two free courses on nutrition and strength training for cyclists presented by Griffen Fitness. For the first time in Scotland, a unique frame-building course will be available, with expert tuition from the Bamboo Bicycle Club during the second weekend of the Festival. Other activities range from pop-up bike maintenance sessions to street performances – every facet of cycling is represented.
Saturday 22 June brings the “Heels on Wheels” Ladies Day (although everyone else is most welcome, too!), in the Meadows from 11am – 3pm. It’s free and will feature cycling demonstrations, women-specific cycling gear, inspiring speakers, cycle instructors and clubs, and coffee, cake and ice cream.
It would not be a cycling festival without some bike rides, and the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling has an abundance of them, ranging from guided bike tours to family events and sporting challenges like the Arthur’s Seat Hill Climb (with trophy). On Friday 21 June, the longest day of the year, there will be a coastal night-ride along quiet roads through East Lothian, for an early breakfast with the sunrise on the beach. Sunday 23 June concludes the festival with a bike ride bonanza, including free family rides hosted by Greener Leith and Polwarth Church, three different levels of Sky Ride (all departing from the Meadows), and finishing in style with the first Edinburgh Harris Tweed Ride.
The Edinburgh Festival of Cycling Ltd. is grateful to The City of Edinburgh Council, Alpine Bikes, the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative and the Embassy of Denmark, as well as a number of smaller sponsors for helping us to make this all possible.
Edinburgh Festival of Cycling programme
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
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