For nervous women cyclists...

Some inspiration from Afghanistan. http://vimeo.com/79696482

Bike Knitting

I came across this website via a knitting email.
http://blog.lionbrand.com/2013/05/13/yarn-bomb-your-bicycle-for-bike-week/
Lion Brand is a family owned and operated business and the oldest American hand-knitting yarn brand, established in 1878.  That date should ring a (bicycle) bell for many cyclists - it is the year the CTC (Cyclists' Touring Club) was founded.  So I hope to see some knitted artefacts on the next Five Miles to Fabulous ride - you have until 20th July ladies!  See www.southhertsctc.org.uk for details of 5MTF.

Bike Week underway

First ride of the Week - eleven ladies set off on a Fabulous ride, organised by South Herts CTC.  They were waved off by the Saturday Saunter crew, also South Herts CTC.   A lovely ride, out the Alban Way to Ellenbrook, in by the lanes to Smallford and elevenses at Notcutts.  Back in along the Alban Way and through Highfield Park.

Five Miles to Fabulous ride - 12 November

South Herts CTC offer occasional women-only short cycle rides on Saturday mornings. The next one is on 12 November. Meet Morrisons, Hatfield Road, 0930h. The rides are aimed at women who used to cycle but have not been out for a while and want a gentle re-introduction, or who have recently learned to ride and wish to gain experience. The pace is gentle and the attitude sociable. Experienced riders are very welcome. Bring some money for a coffee stop. More details at http://www.southhertsctc.org.uk/

2012 SPRING/SUMMER DATES:
19 May; 16 June (Bike Week); 7 July

Guided rides for women

South Herts CTC has now published the spring programme of Five Miles to Fabulous Rides. These are very gentle Saturday morning cycle rides using tracks and quiet roads aimed at women who can cycle but are nervous of traffic. The rides use quiet routes and also build confidence on the road. More experienced and confident riders are welcome, the rides are very enjoyable. Meet at Morrisons, Hatfield Road - by the cycle racks below the canopy. The ride will include a coffee stop. Start time 0930h, back by lunchtime. The dates are 16 April, 18 June and 9 July. www.southhertsctc.org.uk

Five Miles to fabulous - Saturday 10 October

This is a led ride for women only, organised by the Cyclists Touring Club, with the aim of encouraging less experienced or 'I've not been on my bike in ages' women riders to venture out. We will ride out from central St Albans along the Alban Way to Sleapshyde. There will be some on-road riding to get to and from the Alban Way and to give road-craft experience.
Meet on Saturday 10 October at 0930h at the Faber Maunsell office on Upper Marlborough Road, coffee stop at Sleapshyde Methodist Church. Experienced riders are very welcome, but they need to be able to maintain a gentle pace!

Rona Wightman, ride leader

5MTF gets going again

The Five Miles to Fabulous bike ride for women is an easy first step towards getting healthy, having fun and meeting new friends. If it’s been a while since you last used a bike, don’t worry, that is the reason for this ride! All you need to bring is a bike that works and yourself. (Well, and a drink and snack too perhaps, and some money for our coffee stop). The leader will outline basic skills and road craft and then lead you on a gentle five mile ride. Organised by the CTC – the national cyclists’ organisation.
That's the CTC blurb above. The 'official' five miles to fabulous season is early June - but rides can happen at any time. The local CTC group ran several rides last year. The target audience is women who have not cycled much recently, perhaps feel a bit unfit or nervous about the road. However, all female cyclists are welcome. The pace will be gentle, it is a social ride not a burn-up.
So, the first St Albans CTC 5MTF for 2009 is to one of our regular elevenses venues, the Sleapshyde Methodist Chapel coffee morning. Meet at 0930h at Faber Maunsell office in Upper Marlborough Road. Your leader is Rona Wightman, CTC and STACC member.

Five Miles cycle ride - Saturday 13 december 2008

5 miles to fabulous is a type of cycle ride run by the local CTC (Cyclists' Touring Club), and usually they are for women only, but every so often we run one which is 'open' - chaps can come too.
The ride details are:
Easy ride to St Leonard’s Church, Sandridge, to visit the Crib Festival.
Meet at Faber Maunsell, Upper Marlborough Road, St Albans, AL1 3UT
on Saturday 13 December at 9.30am.

Note that Faber Maunsell will be allowing charities raise money from use of the car park on the Saturdays in December. On 13th December the charity is Fund for the Future.
I doubt they’ll expect a donation from cyclists, but I’m sure they would be delighted if some coinage was tossed in their bucket even so.
On this occasion any males who are able and willing to ride slowly and gracefully would be welcome to ride along with us.
It’s not a ‘family’ ride, but any children on childseats, trailers, tandems or roadworthy on their own wheels would also be welcome.

Contact: Rona Wightman tel 020 8784 5533 (mornings) 01727 836470 (evenings).

Posted on Rona's behalf

Five Miles to Fabulous - Ladies Ride on 11.10.08

For male readers - make your own way to tea and scones at Sleapshyde Methodist Church, 10 am to 12 noon on Saturday 11 October. Just off the Alban Way, opposite the Plough pub. This is not the only opportunity to scoff a scone that day, as Shenley Methodist Church is also having a coffee morning on the 11 October, also 10 am to 12 noon. So one or other or both, and did I mention that Methodist home baking is very good indeed?

For female readers - the St Albans Hatfield section of the Cyclist Touring Club (CTC) is organising another 5 miles to fabulous ride, led by Rona Wightman. These rides, promoted nationally in early June, but happening locally from time to time throughout the year, are aimed at encouraging less-confident women riders, by showing good routes and demonstrating roadcraft. Pace is gentle. Meet at Faber Maunsell, Upper Marlborough Road, AL1 3UT at 0930h, ride to Sleapshyde for coffee break, then back. Ride will make use of Alban Way, but will also include some on-road sections. Experienced riders are very welcome on these rides, your encouragement and guidance is appreciated! If you are a fast rider, please wrap up warm, you will be going at gentle pace on this ride.

Five Miles to Fabulous - ladies' ride

There will be another 5 miles to fabulous ride - the 'offical weekend' of 5MTF is June, but I fit in more whenever I can. Meet at Faber Maunsell, Upper Marlborough Road, AL1 3UT at 0930h. Intention is to ride some of my favoured routes around St Albans, stopping for coffee at Trestle Arts Base.

The ride is aimed at women who have not ridden for a while and wish to build confidence riding on roads. There will therefore be some on road riding, using quieter roads so far as possible, and there will be some off-road riding for respite and recovery. Experienced riders are most welcome, but the pace will be gentle, so come prepared to enjoy rather than work-out.

The rides are run under the auspices of the CTC - www.ctc.org.uk or www.fivemilestofabulous.com

Five Miles to Fabulous ride report

Eight ladies and one wee boy in a trailer enjoyed good weather for their ride from the city centre to Sleapshyde on Saturday 7 June. The scones and plants at Sleapshyde Methodist Church coffee morning and plant sale were excellent, we were rested and refreshed after our ride along the Alban Way. As a result we even had the energy to sort out a problematic inner tube on the return leg.
Five Miles to Fabulous is a CTC intiative aimed at providing gentle and supportive opportunities for women to get back on their bikes and build confidence in todays traffic. In leading these rides, I aim to introduce people to useful routes that they may not have been aware of and to demonstrate some 'cyclecraft' - the techniques of positioning on the road and reading and responding to the road and traffic conditions. The pace is calm, we have nothing to prove, we cycle graciously for our own fabulous enjoyment and benefit. On Saturday we were so un-macho that we let a running dad accompanied by his young son on bicycle actually overtake us.

The rides are aimed at providing an opportunity for less confident riders, but if you are a more experienced ride, do please come along, you are most welcome. The rides are enjoyable, and your experience and assistance is appreciated.

I have a busy few months coming up, so have no further 5MTF rides actually planned at present, but I certainly intend to fit some more in over the year. Watch this space. More about 5MTF, including rides all around the country at www.fivemilestofabulous.com

Five more miles to fabulous - Saturday 14 July

5MTF is a national campaign addressed to women, highlighting the health benefits and convenience of cycling. Read more about it at www.fivemilestofabulous.com
The promotion is aimed at non-cyclists (soon to be cyclists), but experienced female riders are of course welcome too. The inaugural St Albans 5MTF ride on 2 June went very well. We had a lovely morning, sunshine and good company. As it was the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer Edward Elgar, we began with raising four cheers to the female cyclists depicted in his Enigma Variations:

Today we are celebrating the birth of the composer Edward Elgar, 150 years
ago. This is timely for our ride, not only did Elgar go cycling as an
inspirational aid to composition, but many of his female friends and family also
cycled – at a time when cycling was quite novel even for men. Several cyclists
can be found in the Enigma variations:
§ Isabel Fitton, a viola player in
Malvern
§ Winifred Norbury, regularly used her bicycle to deliver parish
magazines and to get to choir rehearsals in Worcester, but once cycled to
Hereford for the opening of the Three Choirs Festival.
§ Dora Penny,
daughter of the Rector of Wolverhampton, who several times cycled the forty
miles to Malvern to visit the Elgars.
§ Rosa Burley, headmistress of the
Mount School in Malvern, where the Elgar’s daughter Carice was a pupil.
§
May I recommend an excellent book Elgar the Cyclist a Creative Odyssey by
Keith Allen, available from the Elgar Birthplace Museum, Crown East Lane, Lower
Broadheath, Worcester WR2 6RH., Tel: 01905 333224. Fax: 01905 333426. www.elgarfoundation.org

We progressed at a very relaxed pace, paused for Fairtrade shopping at Homewood Road URC, continued by way of Jersey Lane and Oaklands to our coffee stop at Trestle Arts Base. We returned to our starting point by was of Highfield Park and the Camp Road cycle route.



By popular request, a repeat event will take place on Saturday 14 July.


Date of event: Saturday 14 July2007
Start time: 0930h
Start place: Faber Maunsell, Upper Marlborough Road, St Albans, AL1 3UT
Brief route description including refreshment break:
Easy ride to coffee stop. I have several nearby venues in mind and will select one on the day, depending on weather, group numbers and preferences. Using cycle routes and bridleways, some road riding mostly on quieter roads and lanes.
5. Leader Rona Wightman, tel 01727 836470

Bike Week Events List - 16 - 24 June 2007

BIKE WEEK - it's also BIKE TO WORK WEEK

Program of STACC organised or supported events (Free to enter unless otherwise shown)

Sunday 10 June: STACC stall at St Albans Farmers' Market St Peters St 10.30-12.30 Rickshaw, Bike Week publicity, Free Info & Maps.

Saturday 16 June: Steve will be in front of the Old Town Hall in St Peters St with the STACC rickshaw , 2.00-4.00pm drop by and show solidarity with local cyclists! (Come at 4.00pm for a slow cycle ride up St Peters Street).

Sunday 17 June: Call in on Sunday morning at St Albans Cycles, Brelade Place, Jersey Farm Estate, or Addiktion (10 am - 2 pm) Victoria St, for free advice & check-over of your bike. Rock, also Victoria Street, offer same service, but in normal hours, Monday to Saturday.

Sunday 17 June: Easy bike ride starting at 10.30 on the Alban Way (NCN 61) at the Sutton Road crossing near Hatfield Rd, St Albans; nearest car park at Morrison, Hatfield Rd, St Albans. A sixteen mile ride, off road and quiet lanes, coffee break at Stanborough and optional lunch at The Plough. Total distance 16 miles. Further information from Dave Johnson, 01727 831001

Tuesday 19 June: Free Breakfast, Bikers only 7.30 to 9.30, supplied by St Albans District Council. Start the day sharing breakfast with fellow cyclists! In front of the old Town Hall, St Peters St. Further information from Doug Nevell, 01582 762120

Tuesday 19 June: The Forty+ Cycle Club meets for mid-week social rides with pub lunch. A relatively lengthy 35 mile ride, meeting at Brown Box Cafe Southdown, Harpenden for 10.30 start. Some experience beneficial - On country roads. Further info from Doug Nevell (above).

Tuesday 19 June: 17.00-19.00 See us at St Albans City Station for Bike Security Marking by police and STACC handout pack of maps, membership form, discount information. More information from Gwen Tagg, 01727 868685.

Wednesday 20 June: Join CTC evening ride starting at 19.30 from St Albans War Memorial, St Peter's Street, 12-15 Miles. Easy pace to suit all levels. Pub finish in St Albans; lights required.

Thursday 21 June: The Forty+ Cycle Club welcomes you to a gentle excursion starting at the Green Man in Sandridge at 11.00 am. Ride about 15 miles, easy paced, lunch venue to be agreed. Further information from Doug Nevell (above).

Thursday 21 June: A free 6 mile gentle family ride mainly off road along the Alban Way. Start at 6.30pm from Earthworks (north end of Hixberry Lane (www.earthworksstalbans.co.uk). Return for games, if fine, and picnic. Further information from Doug Nevell (above).

Saturday 23 June: Family afternoon ride to Wheathampstead, easy pace to play stop and / or café, quiet lanes. Meet at Bernards Heath Play Area 2.00pm. Further info from Rona Wightman 01727 836470.

Sunday 24 June: St Albans Cycles, Brelade Place, Jersey Farm Estate, are open again in the morning for a free bike check over & advice.

Sunday 24 June: Shenley Park Family Ride (our traditional end to Bike Week), a 12 mile easy paced, escorted ride, Meet 1.30 at Highfield Park Centre free car park, off Hill End Lane, GR173065, adjacent to SPAR, approximate finish time 5.30 pm. Cycle along traffic free routes and quiet roads to Shenley Park, where there is a cafeteria & playspace. . Further information from Doug Nevell (above).

Sunday 24 June: Ride4aReason: Organised by Verulam Cycling Club, designed as personal challenge along waymarked quiet lanes, marshals and refreshments. Choice of 40 or 60 miles, Small Entry Fee Full details at http://ride4areason.verulamcc.org.uk/

Sunday 24 June: 20 mile charity ride from St Albans to Hampstead in aid of the North London Hospice. Full information at
www.northlondonhospice.org.uk/content/view/109/2/ Entry Fee

Other Events
Women On Wheels at Luton Mon 4th to Fri 8th June - Incl. Free Cycling skills training for women by women. GORDON STREET CAR PARK, LUTON - 12:00 to 14:00 each weekday Bike provided if you need it, or free safety check if you take your own.
Details might not yet appear on www.luton.gov.uk/cycling so email: safercycling@luton.gov.uk or Tel: 01582 547153. Limited Places