I came up with this idea last night, an Edinburgh Festival of Cycling, don't know if it would fly or not, but it has to be worth a try...
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
An Edinburgh Festival of Cycling?
(39 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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Yep, most definately.
A festival could be a great way of demonstrating the need for the city to cater for the vast majority of cyclists who are not "sport" cyclists and really celebrate life on a bike.
With ActivCity aswell there is quite a lot of support and a little money floating around for things like this. We certainly got a lot of support when hosting the UK bike polo champs.
I've always been very impressed with the I bike MCR festival that goes on in Manchester. A grassroots bike festival put on by the sheer bloody mindedness of one woman. It achieves quite a lot in getting the university ages more heavily involved in cycling. It's a great thing, it's just not broad enough.
I'm most definately interested in being involved in the organisation if you're wanting to take this further.
Colin
You have PM
Posted 12 years ago # -
Just thought I would up date this thread to say that there will be an Edinburgh Festival of Cycling 2103. There is a skeleton website (which be replace with something better soon) and a Twitter feed (@edfoc) to keep you up to date with what is going on.
Posted 12 years ago # -
We'd be keen to support. Suppose most shops will.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Excellent!
May I suggest that the long-anticipated washing machine race be part of the festival? (We could, perhaps, make it a fridge to go easy on the weight, whilst retaining the EEN-baiting size)
Posted 12 years ago # -
I took a fairly wee fridge, almost the exact same size as the base, to Sighthill dump yesterday. Pretty well-behaved load, all told, but there really is nothing like a trailer to raise your awareness of surfacing.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I envisage some bike races of unusual machines... maybe a slow race or two?
Posted 12 years ago # -
And...they're off! Just!
(no trikers allowed) :-)
Posted 12 years ago # -
I hope the 2103 in Kim's post is a typo but ...
... this is Edinburgh.
but just in case, I've told Ellen (who's five) to remember to tell her kids to make sure they go.
;-)
Posted 12 years ago # -
2103? But I want it now! :-(
Posted 12 years ago # -
On the plus side, by 2103, hoverboards will have been invented for 98 years.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@ Dave would love to have a cargo bike/washing machine race as part of the Festival, just need some one to organise it.
@ LaidBack Great! Can you drop me a line about what sort of support you would like to offer?
If anyone wants to organise fringe events under the banner of The Edinburgh Festival of Cycling, they are very welcome to do so and I am happy to add them to the programme, just let me know what you have in mind.
@ Instography getting the whole thing off the ground has taken longer than I originally anticipated, but I hope it will be up and running before 2103. Although it might not make much of a profit until then... by which time I will have retired... ;-)
Posted 12 years ago # -
I believe the washing machine race is down to me (given it was a video I wanted to make for citycycling).
Let me get back into the groove of the logistics of that and put together a plan tonight which I can post for anyone wanting to take part.
Posted 12 years ago # -
In tandem with or to counteract Bike Week?
http://www.bikebiz.com/events/read/samsung-bike-week-2013/013828Samsung-sponsored Bike Week's 2013 dates have now been set, for June 15th to 23rd 2013.
I think a warm up ride of the sort Maggie W used to do with TryCycling would be a good thing. Let's take some bikes down to Silverknowes one Sunday soon and look at how we could have a family orientated event down there. The prom has space to cone off a try out area and a cafe and toilets (most important).
The ride to the event is doable by all abilities. A warm up ride could get some pics taken of the events we are thinking of with a small band of forumers. We would then know and have R/A'd how it might work and created some advance publicity.Cycle polo on the prom? Recliners. Tandems. Trikes to try (accessible to those who can't balance plus get interest up. Ghosting a bike twisty circuit etc.
LB has now done two years at the NMS East Fortune event so we know we can get interest in things with pedals.
May be a small start...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Urban cyclocross...
Posted 12 years ago # -
@ Dave would love to have a cargo bike/washing machine race as part of the Festival,
Does it have to be a washing machine? Could it be retitled as a cargo bike/white goods race? We've taken delivery of a new fridge today and the old one, which is quite shy, could be persuaded to sit in someone's storage area until the big day, if needed.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I think a fridge would be more practical, just because it doesn't have 70kg of concrete in the bottom, but who knows? Maybe the race could be a handicap, from beer fridge at the top end to washing machine at the other!
WC, any thoughts?
Posted 12 years ago # -
A cargo which is more likely to gains sponsorship for the race might be to copy a race we had between Bradford and London, with the minor encumberence of a filled barrel of S&N's finest keg beer. It was won by a pair on a motorbike riding with the barrel wedged between the rider and pillion passenger.
Perhaps the race might be from a well known place of production to a notary place of consumption.....
Posted 12 years ago # -
Speaking of cycle logistics - I've been poking a few folk about the rebirth of Red Star Parcels, that great concept for using scheduled train services as the trunk haul of a courier service. It was fatally wounded by sectorisation of British Rail into cost centres for Parcels and various Passenger Cost Centres, and because the Parcels refused to pay for the empty guards van spaces they weren't using they ran separate trains instead, and the coup de grace was delivered by selling the brand to Lynx who then tried to run the service by road. A great game now is spotting railway stations where signs for the long defunct Red Star Parcels counter and other ghosts of BR remain
So now we tend to accept 'overnight by 10 am/12 am' etc as the premium service when we used to enjoy the option of dropping off a parcel in Glasgow Queen Street and collecting it (or getting a delivery within 2 hours in Edinburgh) for a very reasonable charge. 90% of the packages being couriered weigh under 30 Kg, a perfect weight for cycle couriers, and we have a few already working the Central Belt using bike and train - some as old as 75, some young people who have found employment which does not demand great qualifications or experience.
Here is a way to make Scotland more productive - getting vital parts across the country with a minimum of delay, and for the young especially getting them in to the employment market. Unlike the traditional maniac riders of the days before electronic media transmission, these riders tend to last more than 18 months before burning out, and many go on to get jobs working directly for a client.
Anyone know where best to start a Cycle Logistics thread?
Posted 12 years ago # -
PS Landor conferences are organising Cycle City Birmingham at the end of April. Can't be too long before one of the Scottish conference companies - links up with Cycling Scotland for a festival of bike, or is CCE out to get in with the first bid?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Balancebike races for the under 5s?
Some races around the minitrail at Hailes Quarry park for under 10s might be fun too?
Posted 12 years ago # -
I've put in an event for the Edinburgh Festival Cycling (and applied to Bike Week - they're still to list but expect it will be ok).
Edinburgh's first Ligfiets Dag! They said it couldn't be done (and they're probably right).
But Ligfiets Zondag is not just about showing off bikes that people don't want, can't afford or ride! It's a nod towards the Netherlands and the fact that there's more to cycling than getting hot in flourescent clothes (although people with that attire are welcome!)
http://www.edfoc.org.uk/programme/sunday-23rd-june-2013/
Join us for a ride to the cafe at Silverknowes on Sunday 23rd. Sunday also has an Edinburg Lochs and castles tour so people could be spoilt for choice.
Posted 12 years ago # -
There are some great ideas here, but we need people to put them into action, just as LaidBack has done. If you are interested in organising an event and want it in the programme please download a booking form and have it back to the Festival organisers by the end of the month.
Any later it can still go on the website but won't get in the printed programme.
Posted 12 years ago # -
10 months ago Kim had an idea...
Today I saw the little booklet of events and I think it's very good (no I didn't design it!)
Pick up a copy or check it out on the web. There's a Flying Scot event on that looks like a good night.
http://www.edfoc.org.uk/programme/
Mr Copenhagenize is jetting in too. I expect hecklers...;-)
Back page has an ad for a tandem hire company... new to me but nice to see some other companies offering hire.
http://www.myadventure.org.uk/edinburghs-cycle-tandem-hire-company/
Posted 12 years ago # -
impressive!
Posted 12 years ago # -
As part of this Balerno Village Screen is putting on the film Janapar, with the round the world cyclist Tom Allen who made the movie coming up (hopefully for a q and a) you could cycle out to it on the Sunday afternoon. Check out our website (google Balerno village screen). For tickets.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Janapar is a lovely film and Tom Allen is a great guy, I had a long chat with him the last time he was in Edinburgh. I am really pleased that we managed to get the Balerno Village Screen involved in the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling. There is lots more going on, so check it out. Just off to deliver a few more programmes around the bike shops of Edinburgh...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Irritatingly, that tandem hire company appears to have mountain bike tandems. My b/f & I tried a MTB tandem once and didn't get on with it, but I'd like to have a go on a road bike tandem sometime... but I've never found anywhere in Edinburgh that hires them.
EdFoc looks good, I need to get it on my radar a bit more and see what I/my b/f and I might do.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Just a reminder on this as I was talking to Hugh Bryden (who did the Flying Scot book which will be part of the Flying Scot event). If you can't get along to the evening itself then there will be prints and copies of the book for sale which are very lovely things in themselves. One way to get your hands on a piece of bike history without having to shell out for the actual thing itself...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Flying Scot is on the evening of Sunday 23rd http://www.edfoc.org.uk/programme/sunday-23rd-june-2013/
It you are interested in cycling history then go to the talk by Nicholas Oddy (lecture Glasgow School of Art) will be giving a talk entiteled ‘Cyclists – This Hill is Dangerous’, about about myth in cycling history, changes to the right of the road in the late 19th century and how it affects us today. On Thursday 20th June, it is free but you will need to book a place http://www.edfoc.org.uk/programme/thursday-20th-june-2013/
And there is loads of other stuff...
Posted 12 years ago #
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