Celebrating the weird and wonderful in cycling, bicycle arts and culture, and experiencing cycling first hand – the Festival of the Bicycle is one of the growing body of grass roots events that brings cyclists and the local community together. The Festival of the Bicycle in question was born on 31 July, on a sunny Sunday at a local green in Hackney, East London.
Connect with the hungry bicyletti of East London!
The organisers of the Festival of the Bicycle are now seeking interested sponsors and exhibitors as plans are laid to make 2012 a leading bicycle event in the UK. In tandem with this, local Cycling Club Hackney Female Racing team is looking to find an inaugural team sponsor – as it too builds momentum.
Interested parties should contact Sophie Powell via festivalofthebicycle[at]gmail.com.
The organisers estimate that between 300 to 400 people attended at this year’s first ever event, and that next year is expected to be bigger and better yet.
Local cycling clubs and retailers are understandably keen to tap into the interest in cycling at a local level. At the 2011 event, local cycling campaigners in London were able to get their message across; contacts were exchanged; and more importantly, locals got to try out cycling and see how local clubs can get them involved recreationally and in racing.
As the event organisers pointed out, at the inaugural event ‘the sore heads of Hackney Wick and surrounding areas took a while to come out, but by the middle afternoon heads were spinning with bicycles zipping about, tandems shooting over lines, prize givings, and our bicycle lucky dip sold out!’
