Bidding to redress the cycling gender imbalance

Cycle Our City with Confidence riders celebrate a successful ride with tea, cake and a bit of Suffragette history at the Pankhurst Centre

A special event is being held in Manchester this weekend to round off a month-long celebration of women’s pedal power.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is inviting people to come along to HOME in Manchester city centre on Sunday (March 25) and mark the culmination of #RideWithUsGM, a series of events designed to help redress the region’s cycling gender imbalance.

The celebration event starts at 11am and will feature a range of workshops, films and inspirational speeches (which will require booking) as well as a post-event ride and social event at cycling clothing company Rapha’s Clubhouse at St Ann’s Passage.

Participants can trial an e-bike, see a display of cargo bikes or trailers for ferrying the kids around or get their hands on a good quality, used bike.

There will be host of information from a variety of retailers and organisations on the day.

There is also the chance to hear from Julie Bullen and Ang Walker – two inspiring women who tackled the Transcontinental Race across Europe last year – or learn about dressing for the weather on bike rides with Rapha’s womenswear designer Maria Olsson.

The TfGM Committee’s cycling and walking champion, Cllr Chris Paul, said: “The event at HOME promises to be exciting and inspirational so why not pop down and check out some of the benefits cycling has to offer, from keeping fit and making new friends to saving money on your daily commute.

“More women are cycling than ever before, but men still account for two thirds of the region’s cyclists, so we want to do everything we can to encourage as many women as possible to get out on their bikes.

“The #RideWithUsGM campaign aims to do that by offering specially designed events to help women of all ages, abilities and experiences to tackle some common barriers to making more journeys by bike.”

#RideWithUsGM events are still running until the end of the month and details can be found on the TfGM cycling event webpages.

To find out more about cycling in Greater Manchester, visit www.tfgm.com/cycling