I am a regular female commuter embarking on a 13 mile return cycle three to four times a week through London. I would not describe myself as a fashion slave but I have a slight weakness for nice bags and shoes. Throughout my career as a commuter I have had trouble with applying the same standards to my cycling accessories.

To make a commute comfortable a good commuting bag is essential. In my view there are four things that make a good cycling commuting bag: (i) comfort, (ii) space, (iii) aesthetics and (iv) weather-proofness. I will explain why each of these are important.

Comfort

If your commute is longer than a few miles you will know that the bag needs to feel comfortable, either over your shoulder or on your back. I generally prefer to commute with a backpack unless my journey is very short. Most good backpacks have padded straps and belts which add to the comfort of your journey. Some, like the Vaude backpack that I have used, have a mesh net that creates an extra space between your back and the bag making sure you do not get overheated. Rapha’s backpack surprisingly does not have this feature and the reasons for this may be due to aesthetics or space.

Space

I work in an office and need to look smart. Luckily, like a few work places these days, we have showers at work. This means, however, that every morning I need to bring in a shirt or a smart top plus suit trousers or a skirt and, of course, a pair of shoes. The commuting bag needs to have enough space for me to put the change of clothing and some make-up. The Rapha bag is excellent for this. Particularly because it zips completely flat open so you can neatly fold your clothes and have enough space for make-up.

Inside the Rapha bag

Aesthetics

My favourite bag to cycle with is my Anya Hindmarch handbag because it is made out of beautiful leather and it slings delicately across my back. It is not, however, a very practical commuting bag.

I have to admit that the Rapha bag, whilst not nearly as beautiful as my Anya, is a brilliant alternative. It looks classy with leather zip pullers and black exterior with distinctively Rapha white leather band. You can definitely look pretty cool in a bar having a post-work drink or doing some shopping with a Rapha bag and then jump on a bike to cycle home.

I have used the bag for nearly 12 months and it has not shown any signs of aging. This is a remarkable achievement given the amount of use, both on and off the bike, which it has had.

I have to confess that I loathe the bright yellow builders’ jacket-coloured Hump bags. It seems that everyone has them in London! However, visibility on the road particularly in a large city like London is of utmost importance. Rapha have come up with a bright pink Hump alternative which can be taken off and zipped up at the bottom of the bag. I have had guys comment on the cover when I am waiting at lights and a few have said that a man could not pull off the bright pink. I have to disagree as I have seen a few London male commuters carry it off pretty well. Come on, guys, you wear all those other crazy lycra colours so don’t be shy of bright pink!

The Rapha backpack is practical and good looking off the bike too

Weather-Proofness

Despite certain preconceptions about female cyclists I am not a “fair weather cyclist”. I avoid cycling on ice but you will regularly see me on my bike in rain and wind. My commuting bag, thus, needs to be weather-proof. Vaude as well as most other cycling-specific backpacks often have detachable waterproof covers. The bright pink cover on the Rapha bag is a bit thicker than the Vaude one and in my view is more waterproof.

The cost is also an important consideration for most of us, so, I am including this as a final fifth category.

I set out below a table summarising three bags I have personally used over many months on my own road bike and rated them in these five categories.

Ratings explained:

1 – very bad (Contador because of doping)

2 – manageable (Gatis Smukulis – not a star yet but a fellow country man)

3 – ok (Chris Froome)

4 – good (Bradley Wiggins)

5 – excellent (Cancellara  – because I have a personal weakness for his good looks).

For businesses like ours the research provides valuable market data and interesting trends that helps inform our business.

The 2012 study found that on the back of a busy Olympic year the number of cyclists have risen from just 34% of the population in January 2012 to four in ten (41%) in November 2012.

Mintel’s research shows 6% of British consumers (amounting to 3.1 million Brits) are taking to two wheels “most days”. While almost one in ten (8%) Brits cycle 2 or 3 days a week, the same number cycle on a weekly basis. Indeed, in terms of weekly participation, the figure rises to more than one in five (22%) consumers – adding up to over 11 million bike loving Brits. In terms of increased participation, most of the growth in cycling has occurred among those who cycle 2-3 days a week – numbers increasing from 6% of Brits in January 2012 to 8% in November 2012.

Leisure riding is the most popular type of cycling, with two thirds (66%) of cyclists riding at the weekends, either alone or in a group. General purpose riding, such as going to the shops or visiting friends, is also extremely prevalent with four in ten (40%) cyclists riding for this reason. Meanwhile, 25% of cyclists use a bicycle to commute and 13% use a bicycle to go to their place of education. Off-road riding is a comparatively minor branch of the sport at 13%.

Another headline grabbing stat from the research, one in two (50%) British men are taking to their bikes.

Slow market growth

The increase in cycling participation levels has been most welcome but Mintel’s research reveals that the market value of bike and bike accessory sales has not been increasing at a rate the cycling industry expected.

According to Mintel, the market for bikes was £705 million in 2012, increasing 8.5% from £650 million in 2011. Sales of bicycles has risen but it has been at a slower rate than expected growth. The value increase in the market reflects a continued shift towards more premium-priced road bikes, as well as a recovery in sales through the Cycle to Work.

The slower than expected growth can be credited to a weakness of the economy and consumer confidence, the poor weather in the second half of 2012 and anecdotal evidence which suggests that a lot of people taking up cycling in 2012 were re-commissioning old cycles that they already owned and not buying new, Mintel said.

Boom time expected

While recent growth has been stable, Mintel does expect a boom in sales for bikes in the next five years and predicts the market to grow by 23% in the next five years, to reach a market value of £869 million by 2017.

Michael Oliver, Senior Leisure Analyst at Mintel, believes that cycling participation levels will continue to grow, especially as it now appears the tide has turned in central and local government in terms of their attitudes towards the provision of cycling facilities. This could result in making cycling a lot safer, particularly in towns and cities.

“If this happens, the evidence from several trial schemes around the country shows that there will be strong growth in cycling usage and this can only be good for sales of new bicycles in the long term.”

Previous Mintel research has found that one in two (49%) Brits agree that it is too dangerous to ride a bicycle on the road, with those living in London being the most likely to agree with this statement (58%). Having dedicated lanes and routes could take cycling participation to new levels as one of the key concerns for anyone take up cycling is whether it is safe to do so.

Gender differences in buying a bike

When it comes to buying a bike there is a marked difference between the genders on what they look for. Men are notably more likely than women to attach importance to the specification and equipment on a bicycle (36% vs 27%) and the brand (24% vs 18%). In contrast, women are much more concerned than men about a bicycle being an affordable price (80% vs 74%), its styling, colour or décor (29% vs 19%) and the quality of after-sales service (17% vs 12%).

The Ronde van Vlaanderen is one of the monument races of the cycling season and going by the impressions from the television and comments from spectators, the race is just that – monumental.

Swooosh!

Cobbles, brutal climbs, crazy fans, iconic landscapes. As is always the case, the TV only delivers half the excitement. If you’ve ever been to a big bike race (cue the Olympics or the Tour of Britain or even just a local race), you know what I mean – the swoosh of the wheels, the gentle, precise clicking of gears shifting, riders shouting warnings at each other and all at breakneck speed that you can only appreciate if you’ve seen for yourself. Swooosh! – and they’re gone.

I had planned to watch the Ronde at a local cafe, run by cycling enthusiasts sipping a couple of Belgian beers along the way. But then everything changed, thanks to a little e-mail from GoingGoing Bike telling me: “Congratulations! You’re going to watch the Ronde live! You’ve won the VIP package.” I did a little dance and then phoned a friend – with the Million Pound question: Are you coming?

On the Saturday afternoon, we got ourselves to Oostende (unsurprisingly, Bruges was fully booked) for the night, had some fantastic pizza and an early night. I could hardly sleep though, the excitement was too great!

Christine was overjoyed to be at the Tour of Flanders

Race day: autographs for kisses

Train to Bruges, quick breakfast and then we walked to the meeting point, to check in with our hosts for the day, the guys from Go4Cycling, who organised our VIP day. On the way there, we came past the warm-up area, 2 hours prior to the race start – empty. Not a single team bus.

After checking in, getting kitted out in Go4Cycling paraphernalia and being treated to some yummy chocolate Easter eggs, we wandered off to explore Bruges along the fenced off course towards the City Hall. The streets had started to fill with fans: little kids sporting Tom Boonen jerseys, girls “selling” kisses for autographs, grown men with Tom Boonen faces strapped on and music playing from strange contraptions, groups of friends dressed up in fancy dress.

Autographs for kisses

The Flemish sure love their Ronde. The whole atmosphere was just fantastic with people having a good time in the sun, waiting for riders to come and sign in. And then they came: every single one got greeted with loud cheers, whether they were famous or belonging to a local team. They all were treated like heroes. And the race hadn’t even started!

The peleton rolls out at the start of the Ronde van Vlaanderen

The VIP race experience

Just before the actual start we met up with our hosts again, climbed on our luxury bus filled to the last seat with cycling enthusiasts and off we went to our first viewing point – and this was when the rush started. A constant mix of hopping off the bus, finding a place in the crowd with a good vantage point, building up the excitement as the entourage of motorcycles and cars passed through, the noise level of screaming people grows and swoooooosh!

The riders pass. Back to the bus, settle down, follow the race on the telly, while the expert bus driver finds his way through small villages and back streets to get us to our next viewing point – just in time. It was fabulous, the constant ebb and flow of live viewing and warming-up in the bus (yes, it was bitterly cold).

The race-within-the-race

We quickly realised that apart from the Ronde, there was another race going on. The race of spectators to the next viewing point. We weren’t alone as soon faces started to become familiar. Nods were exchanged, the experience enjoyed, a quick chat about who was going to win, and off we went, to congregate at the next spot. It was like belonging to a secret society.

All the while, we were well looked after by the Go4Cycling team with drinks and a very tasty lunch box and cava, coffee and cake later on. Along the way we met more crazy fans, most notably the Ronde Party Bus.

Our last viewing spot was in a lively little town where riders passed through twice and there was a big screen to watch the finale. At the time the riders passed, Cancellara had not made the first selection and the break away still had a small lead. It all happened amazingly quickly after that or so it seemed. Back at the big screen, it felt a bit like at the horse races: people shouting riders’ names to urge them on, to pull through. Nervous waiting, anxious groans when Cancellara dropped Sagan, delighted shouts. And then it was over. Just. Like. That.

 All eyes were on Tom Boonen (black, yellow and red jersey), the home favourite for the race

All’s well that ends well

Still on a high we returned to the bus, watched the highlights and expert analysis on our way back to Bruges. I was so shattered, I dozed off.

Days later, I was still telling friends and colleagues at work about the incredible time we’ve had. Getting within touching distance of the riders and the race, trying to make others understand the toughness and the speed of it, the amazing fans along the route, the secret society of migrating race spectators. It was all brilliantly organised, a day I’ll remember and I can recommend it to anyone.

Thank you very much Going Going Bike and Go4Cycling.

The enthusiastic Belgian and Flemish fans made the Ronde experience extra special for Christine

]]> http://www.goinggoingbike.com/blog/the-spring-racing-classics-are-best-served-live/feed/ 0 http://www.goinggoingbike.com/blog/go-20/ http://www.goinggoingbike.com/blog/go-20/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:12:46 +0000 Rajiv Desai http://www.goinggoingbike.com/blog/?p=11937 [...]]]> Road safety charity Brake and British Cycling have joined together in calling for action from national and local government to improve cycling by ‘GOing 20’ and introducing widespread 20mph limits in Britain’s towns and cities.

Brake and British Cycling believe that by introducing a 20mph limits in towns and cities alongside improvements to existing road design would help produce more safe cycling routes. They are also calling on drivers everywhere to do their bit to make roads safer, by slowing down, giving space to cyclists and looking out for people on bike and foot.

Brake has published a survey of 1,000 cyclists that reveals that safer roads would encourage people to cycle more: 46% would cycle more local journeys, 44% would cycle more for leisure or exercise and 40% would cycle more to work, given safer local routes.

Nine in 10 (88%) think traffic is too fast on roads in their area and an overwhelming 98% said more should be done to make local streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Seven in 10 (68%) believe widespread 20mph limits are needed in their area to make cycling and walking safer.

When asked in 2012, nearly two thirds (65%) of British Cycling members said reducing residential speed limits to 20mph would reduce injuries to cyclists.

GO 20 is a coalition of 11 charities and organisations (including Brake and British Cycling) calling for: more local authorities to implement 20mph limits across towns, cities and villages; the government to work towards 20mph being the norm in all our communities; and drivers to pledge to GO 20 around homes, schools and shops.

Since November 2012 when the GO 20 campaign launched, significant progress has been made for GO 20 across the UK. The UK government and Welsh Assembly both recently moved to encourage more 20mph limits in England and Wales.

Anyone can pledge their support for GO 20 by giving your support to the campaign on Facebook or write to your local MP and ask them to support the GO 20 campaign.

At a local level, find out if there’s a campaign group already active in your area and get in touch to lend your support or if there’s no local group, set up your own with help from campaign group 20′s Plenty for Us.

In an attempt to provide more forward momentum to get women cycling, British Cycling has set out ambitious plans to get one million more women riding bikes by 2020.

Ambitious as that target is, the governing body of cycling, believes it is achievable. A British Cycling target to get a million more people cycling by 2013 was achieved a year early.

As British Cycling’s President, Brian Cookson OBE, says that when British Cycling set goals they they set about them with seriousness and purpose.

How are British Cycling aiming to get to this one million more women cycling?

There are a number of proposals that sit alongside the success of mass participation events such as Sky Ride and the Breeze female-led rides that are already encouraging more to take up recreation cycling with other women, their partners, families and friends. British Cycling will be:

-Setting up entry-level racing opportunities for women to compete at key facilities across the country, including establishing ‘get into cycle sport’ coaching sessions;
-Working to influence more event organisers to put on women’s events to run alongside men’s races;
-Establishing a National Youth Forum with equal male and female representation to feed into British Cycling’s work to inspire young people to take up the sport;
-Recruiting more female coaches, volunteers and officials into the sport to ensure more women are influencing and running the sport at the grassroots;
-Working to ensure that British Cycling’s board is more representative with plans to recruit three Board members as soon as possible;
- Ensuring that British Cycling’s website, membership offer and branding is appealing to women;
-Looking at how it can better promote the organisation’s free expert advice, cycling routes and Social Cycling Groups network to demonstrate how easy it is for women to get involved;
-Continuing to campaign for safer roads for all cyclists to help overcome the safety concerns that 30% of women identify as the main barrier to taking up cycling.

The new one million target will be measured using British Cycling and Sky’s Annual Cycling Survey. Sport England’s Active People survey will be taken into account but, as that survey only measures recreational cycling in England, it won’t provide the full picture.

The current situation

At the moment, according to British Cycling figures, 525,000 women in England currently cycle at least once a week. In the last 12 months alone there has been a 63,000 increase in the number of women cycling regularly, which is good news. One of British Cycling’s aims will be to convert the circa 1.2 million women in England that cycle at least once a month to cycling at least once a week.

British Cycling’s Breeze programme has been seen as a relative success given it was set up with little fanfare in June 2011. 21,000 women have participated in Breeze since then. Also encouraging is the fact that over 5,000 women are currently signed up to British Cycling’s Social Cycling Groups network and over 4,000 have organised rides.

Of course these numbers must grow and it would be good to see more women being encouraged to join cycling clubs across England, Scotland and Wales if new sporting talent is to be spotted.

Why women don’t cycle

While road safety is probably one of the main reasons why women won’t cycle, British Cycling will have to understand the other reasons that is stopping women picking up bikes if their campaign is to be successful. At the moment, Sky Ride and Breeze concentrate on getting women to cycle as a leisure pursuit or to get some confidence out on a bike but that won’t significantly push numbers up. Where numbers will grow is on the commuter side of bike use.

Here, British Cycling and other authorities have to convince women that cycling can be part of their every day lives and it often comes down to the practicalities of cycling. That can mean anything from providing facilities at workplaces for showering and changing to the cycling industry making sure there is women’s cycling apparel that is fit for purpose.

British Cycling has started the ball running with this policy aim of 1m more women cycling but other parts of the cycling industry will have to come on board to encourage more women to cycle.

7th July is the date of the Etape du Tour, the amateur cyclist’s chance to ride a major mountain stage of the 100th edition of the Tour de France and Rapha are sending 100 women to ride the sportive, which will form part of the day’s festival of riding.

Rapha want women cyclists to ride their own 100km on the day to join in the celebration and hope that thousands will take up the challenge.

The clothing company stress that the Rapha Women’s 100 isn’t competition to see who is the fastest, but more about gathering a global community of women around the world to take part in a shared adventure.

In the build up to the 7th of July, the company will feature tales from the women riding the 100 and chart their training, experiences and thoughts leading up to the big day on their site. In addition, Rapha will be putting on a fully supported all women’s training ride called the Women’s Century Ride in June.

More details on the Rapha Women’s 100 and how you can participate can be found on Rapha’s site and on the specially created event page on Facebook.

Ms Bizarro (we don’t know her real name) has been cycling for a number of years and as she admits herself, cycling has taken over from her previous hobby of knitting.

She blogs on cycling via her Accidento Bizarro site. The subject matter on the blog is mainly about the trials and tribulations of being a keen amateur cyclist who enjoys everything about the activity (she’s been training for cyclocross races this winter) .

Her writing is always done with a large slice of humour, which brings us to the piece of writing that she’s kindly allowed us to share on our blog pages – using the dreaded cycling turbo trainer.

Loved and hated in equal measure, trainers are important to one’s cycle training especially in the winter months when you can’t get outside. There’s lots of good advice in the blog about using trainers and making the experience as pleasurable as possible. And with that, it’s now over to you, Ms Bizarro.

It’s raining turbots

So, winter. Proper winter, too, with snow and ice and freezing winds and two and a half hours of daylight* and all that. Around this time of year, a young [cough] cyclist’s thoughts turn to staying inside out of the ruddy weather, FGS, thank you very much, what do you think I am, crazy?

But sitting around eating cheese footballs and watching Masterchef only appeals for so long. While Christmas is traditionally a time for getting our fitness baseline right down so that we have something to work on in the New Year, by February most of us are surveying our rears in the mirror with growing distaste, unfriending people on Facebook because they’re on holiday in Tenerife, and biting anyone who suggests we might just go out for a little walk, you know, to clear our heads?

The solution, of course, is folded up in the corner of the spare room: the turbo. I’ll confess to a bit of a love-hate relationship with the turbo. I owe it a lot. My first winter of turbo training** revolutionised my cycling. The following summer, instead of trailing up French climbs throwing mental grenades at @spandelles as he disappeared over the horizon, I actually beat him up Mont Ventoux. (‘I’ve created a monster,’ he said ruefully over pizza that evening.) The turbo kept me sane during pregnancy, when I was dutifully trying to keep my HR down so as not to boil the baby, or whatever was supposed to happen if I exceeded 135bpm. When I gave myself an arch strain jumping around the kitchen in my socks to LCD Soundsystem*** and couldn’t run for nearly a year, the turbo saved me from going postal.

Tips

Despite all this, turbo-ing can be a depressing prospect. However, with a few tweaks to your routine, you CAN enjoy your turbo session. Based on extensive personal experience, here are my top tips.

1. Have a playlist with some fast tracks on it, and some REALLY fast tracks. Choose ‘shuffle’, and try and keep up with the music.

2. Do 20/40s, or 30/30s, or 10/10s, or whatever other heinous alternation of sweating and wheezing you can muster.

3. Sing. This is the one time that singing along to your ipod is completely acceptable. (If you can sing along to ‘I Will Always Love You’, mind you, you may not be working hard enough.)

4. Take advantage of those inevitable trips to go to the loo/ answer the door/ get your towel/ check your @mentions by honing your cyclocross skills: dismounts, remounts and getting your feet in and out of the pedals at speed can all be practised on the turbo. (Well, maybe not the remounts. See ‘wonder why your arse hurts’, below.)

5. Fine-tune your raceface. Take a few pictures on your phone, to check yourself out. Make sure that your raceface is sufficiently distinct from your sexface. You don’t want your race pictures showing up on those sites, again.

6. Observe the functioning of your body under stress. Wonder why your elbows/ wrists/ knees sweat so much (delete as applicable). Try to get your HR into zone 5. Try to get your HR back down out of zone 5. Wonder if anyone will miss you if your drop off the turbo stone dead, or if you’ll be discovered three weeks later with the cat eating your face.

7. Think about bike fit. Does your arse hurt because your saddle is too high, or because you’re wearing your shortest shorts? When you’re in TT position, can people see down your top? (You’ll need a mirror, or a friend, for this one.)

8. Have a really brilliant idea for a blogpost/ million selling book/ dastardly world domination plan that you can’t write down. Forget it by the time you get in the shower.

* I may have been watching a bit too much Borgen, here

** by which I mean, riding my bike attached to the turbo; ‘training’ is overstating it a touch

*** When I told the doctor this story, she looked at me and went, ‘Idiot.’

Working with Maverick organisers, Festival of Bicycle has  put together a 60 mile cycling tour from London to Maverick, which will follow the Sustrans national route 1. Cyclists will set off from a location in East London on Friday 5th July and be on site in Suffolk as the first bands take the stage. The festival takes place over the weekend of the 5th, 6th and 7th July.

If you want to join the tour, which is being called Tour de Maverick of course, it will cost an extra £10 per ticket for the festival itself. If staying for the whole weekend of the festival, riders bags and camping equipment will be delivered to the Maverick Festival camp site by Festival of Bicycle in advance of the riders reaching there.

To add to the cycling adventure, there will be surprises on the ride to the Maverick site.  Riders will be able to see bands perform at secret points along the route.Prizes will also be given for categories including best dressed and most courageous rider. The soundtrack for the ride will be provided by local From A to B sponsor, Hackney GT.

Festival of Bicycle co-founder, Sophie Bailey, says the Tour de Maverick will definitely be rode at a leisurely pace.

“We attended Maverick Festival last year and loved it! We’re looking forward to coming back in style in 2013, and adding an extra element of adventure to the weekend.’”

People who take up the Tour de Maverick ticket will have to transport their own bikes and equipment back to their destinations via trains or other transport. Please bear this in mind, when buying a ticket.

The Maverick Festival leans to country music acts and this year’s line up includes: Ruth Moody, Good Lovelies, Phil Lee, I See Hawks in LA and Suffolk’s own Neil Innes. More details on the Maverick Festival can be found at  WWW.MAVERICKFESTIVAL.CO.UK, while tickets for the Tour de Maverick and the Festival are available to buy now from  https://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/VGD0507

Interior designer Joe Huddleston had been attending a meeting at his firm’s (Aedas) offices in central Birmingham when he spotted through the office windows that two thieves were using bolt cutters to break the lock on a £2,000 Condor-branded bike.

Without any hesitation, Joe ran out of his meeting to confront the thieves only to find they and the bike were no longer there.

On a hunch, he decided to look for the two thieves around Birmingham’s law courts area and spotted them. They hadn’t gone far from the office as the Condor in question was a fixed gear track bike.

The two idiots had presumably tried to ride the bike but didn’t know how to ride fixed and so didn’t make a quick as getaway as they should have if the bike’s back wheel was a freewheel.

After catching up with the two, Joe told them that he had seen them stealing the bike at which point, unexpectedly, they left the bike with Joe.

Joe’s next problem was however finding the owner of the bike. He could have left it with the Police but being a cyclist himself he knew the owner would come back for the bike after work on that day. So he came up with the idea of putting the bike in his workplace window and asking the owner to claim it.

The owner Becket Bedford duly claimed the bike on the same day after seeing it in the window.

Becket, a public law barrister at Birmingham law courts, told the Birmingham Mail that he thought his bike had gone forever.

“I was shattered at first and thought it had gone. But I looked around and, magically, my bike was in the window of the offices.”

“It is really amazing that someone would put themselves at risk like that to save somebody else’s bike.”

Delivered by charity Sustrans and funded by Bike Hub, the Bicycle Association’s trade body, the Big Pedal 2013 will see thousands of families ditch the car and do the school run by bike or scooter between 28 February and 20 March.

Over 1,000 UK primary and secondary schools already signed up to this year’s Big Pedal competition and Bike Hub is urging more parents and schools to saddle up and take part ahead of the start date.

Nearly half of all children want to be able to get to school by bike but only4% actually do. The Big Pedal is intended to show children and parents just how easy it is to get around on two wheels.

In the Big Pedal, every journey to school by bike or scooter is recorded by a school and this powers that school round a virtual stage race. Prizes are awarded to schools who complete the miles involved in those stages in the quickest amount of time. There are some great prizes to be won this year, from bike storage to cycle stunt displays.

Most schools take part in the whole three-week challenge, but schools can also just enter one or more of three daily stages on Thursday 28 February, Friday 8 March and Wednesday 20 March. All school results are then published the following day on the Big Pedal website so schools can track how they and other schools are doing throughout the race.

Last year over 950 schools took part, from Cornwall to the Highlands, Belfast to East Anglia.  The combined efforts of children all over the country totalled a massive 1,140,075 miles, saving 59,021 gallons of fuel and £368,484.

Parents and schools wishing to take part can still register by visiting www.bigpedal.org.uk