The London Cycle
Challenge
Havering businesses can take part in the
three week challenge, which started on Monday 8 June, to get staff cycling this summer.
Businesses with the highest percentage of staff taking part will be rewarded
with experiences, VIP tickets, cycling vouchers and clothing along with lunches
and flowers delivered by bike.
Sign up your business
here
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Cycle for St Francis
Cyclists can support St
Francis Hospice, inHavering-atte-Bower, by taking part in a number of rides
this year including the Prudential
Ride London to Surrey 100 on Sunday 2 August or the London to Paris on Monday
15 June or Wednesday 9 September.
More information available
here.
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Get your kicks
on route 136
Join
Sustrans volunteers and Havering Cyclists on a leisurely Go Explore with
Sustrans bike ride on National Cycle Route 136 through the Ingrebourne Valley.
The ride is
on Sunday 19 July between 10am and 1pm, and celebrates 20 years of the Sustrans National
Cycle Network.
Places are limited and need
to be reserved here.
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New cycle pumps
Havering Council is installing new
cycle pumps for public use near Elm Park, Gidea Park, Harold Wood, and Rainham railway stations.
The cycle pump near Romford Station
is being replaced with a more sturdy version.
There is already a cycle pump near Upminster
Station (pictured).
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Cycle parking
New cycle stands are
being installed by Havering Council to make it easier for cyclists to park and
secure their bikes.
Watch out for the new stands at railway
stations, parks and shopping parades throughout Havering.
If you have a suggestion where a
new cycle stand would be useful please email details to Daniel Douglas.
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Free cycle maintenance courses
The
Council's cycle maintenance classes are up and running
again.
The
free classes at Myplace, in Dagnam Park Drive, Harold Hill, have a basic
course, which includes how to fix a puncture, while the advanced course will
cover removal and installation of cycle parts.
Get details of maintenance courses here.
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Mark it in the Market
Havering Police Safer Transport Team security
code cycles free of charge in Romford Market each month.
The next session will be on
Saturday 4 July, between 11.00am and 2.00pm at the South Street end of the
market place near Cycles UK.
Everyone who gets their bike, marked will receive a free puncture repair kit.
All residents have to do is
turn up with their bike so it can be security marked and stickers attached to warn
would be thieves that they should leave this cycle alone. Details are added to
the Bike
Register.
These free sessions in Romford
Market, usually on the first Saturday of each month, are one of the ways
that the council and police work together to keep crime levels low in our
community.
Find out more about cycle security.
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Cycle training
Havering
Council offers free training for families and adults, to help improve cyclists'
awareness of possible dangers on the road and improve safety.
Many
pupils also benefit from free bike ability training at school.
Get details of free cycle training courses here.
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Road works and more
Havering Council’s weekly email Travel
Update gives details of forthcoming road works and other transport issues
affecting the Borough.
Sign
up for your copy here.
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 Safety first
Cyclists should check out the latest version of the Highway Code, which includes information on how to cycle safely.
For example Highway Code Rule 70 says:
When parking your cycle
- find a conspicuous location where it can be seen by passers-by
- use cycle stands or other cycle parking facilities wherever possible
- do not leave it where it would cause an obstruction or hazard to other road
users
- secure it well so that it will not fall over and become an obstruction or
hazard.
Check out the Highway Code for cyclists here.
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Win a Brompton
folding bike
Havering’s cyclists
can influence what cycling facilities will be provided at Crossrail stations in the Borough and
could win a Brompton folding bike (pictured)
for sending in their views.
A survey has been launched by TFL Rail, which is now running trains between Shenfield and
Liverpool Street as the first stage of the Crossrail service.
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 Gidea Park, Harold Wood
and Romford stations are all on the new TFL
Rail service.
If you have views
about cycling facilities in and around these stations, please complete the online survey here, then
add your details at the end to enter the prize draw.
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On your bike to work
This year’s National Bike
Week, which runs from Saturday 13 June until Sunday 21 June, has a special
focus on encouraging people to use their bikes to cycle to work. Many people
will use the events to ride and take part in ‘buddy’ rides with colleagues,
scope out the easiest route to their place of work or take part in work place
challenges.
More information
available here.
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Traffic light
controls for cyclists go on trial
Transport for London (TfL)
has launched traffic light control trials along Cable Street on Cycle
Superhighway 3, which runs from Barking to Tower Gateway.
The sensors for the lights detect the numbers of cyclists
travelling along a route, so traffic signal timings are automatically adjusted
to give more green time when there are high numbers of cyclists at key
junctions during peak times.
TfL plans to make the timings at the traffic signals reflect
demand on a second-by-second basis, helping to provide immediate benefit to
cycle flow at junctions.
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 Low level signals
TfL has also been given permission by the Department for
Transport (DfT) to install low level cycle signals at traffic signals where
they would deliver benefits.
TfL is also working with local boroughs to identify further
locations across London where these new low level signals could be introduced
on borough roads.
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Register now
for Sky Rides
Sky Rides in Havering this year will follow two
different routes.
On Sundays 9 August and 8 November, each time starting
at 10am from Upminster
Library, Corbets Tey Road, Upminster, RM14 2BB, there is the South Havering
Circular ride.
On 26 July and 13 September, each
time starting at 2pm from Lodge Farm Park, Lodge Avenue, Romford,
RM2 5AD, it is the Romford Ride through Raphael and Lodge Farm Parks.
This Havering Sky Ride is free and includes guides.
More information on this Sky Ride is
available here.
A list of other
local Sky Rides is available here.
Check out other cycling events here.
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App for London’s cycles
Santander Cycles
has launched a new App, making London’s cycle hire scheme easier to use than
ever before.
The Santander
Cycles App for Android and iOS smartphones is free to download for both members
and casual users, from the Apple Store or Google
Play. In addition to viewing the nearest docking station and bike
availability, the new App is able to send a ‘bike release’ code straight to a
user’s phone, which means they can hire a cycle without having to use the
docking station terminal.
All customers
need to do is register with their bank card, use the App to ‘hire now’ from a
nearby docking station, and just tap the code into a docking point to release a
bike for use.
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 Free cycle guides
Boxes of free cycle guides
are now available to order directly from Transport for London (TfL).
There are 14 different guides covering the whole of Greater London, so no
matter where you're based, or your employees live, there's a map to help them
cycle to work. Click
here to check which guide best suits your business, its staff and
its visitors.
To order, email
us with the subject line 'Free
Cycle Guides' and include your preferred guide number(s) and
how many boxes of each you require. Please include the full delivery address,
including a name and contact number for the person signing for the
delivery.
This offer is for London businesses only and is first-come first-served. Each
box contains 180 guides. We may supply an alternative guide number if your
preferred choice is unavailable.
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Local cycling groups
There
are several cycling groups that operate in Havering.
All
welcome new members and offer the opportunity to ride with fellow cyclists.
You can also search for clubs further afield using the club finder tool on the British Cycling
website.
More information here.
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The latest information
More information is available on Havering Council's website.
Check out the Cycle Havering Facebook page to see what people are saying.
You can also view cycling videos on Havering Council's YouTube channel.
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