Wokingham Borough Connect
Hundreds saddle up for summer Bikeathon fun
More than 520 participants got pedalling at last Sunday's Wokingham Bikeathon, which started and finished at Cantley Park in Wokingham town.
The cyclists had a choice of four routes, from 15 to 51 miles, while about 60 parents and children took part in the 2.5 mile Kidical Mass ride.
Lots of clubs took part including the under 18s Sprockets Cycle Club, based in Arborfield, who organised a fun obstacle course, and Wokingham Cycling Club, who kindly managed the signage.
Our My Journey Wokingham team supported the event with a led ride for the 15 mile route, aimed at people who were nervous about cycling on the roads.
We also had our popular smoothie bike Pedalicious and lots of information about cycle routes in the borough, as well as a "beat box" for the ongoing Beat the Street game - more on that below!
Wokingham Bikeathon is organised by volunteers and raises money to support Wokingham Foodbank. For a full list of organisations that supported it, please visit the organisers' website.
Cyclists rack up miles in fun challenge
Our residents rode an impressive 49,817 miles in this year's Love to Ride Bike Month Challenge, which ran throughout May.
That's the same as 85 return trips from London to Paris, saving an estimated 4,415 lbs in carbon emissions - about the same as running 4,000 hairdryers for an hour.
Some 383 people took part, including 44 workplace teams, and they logged 4,172 journeys. More than a third were for transport to work or other destinations.
You can still join the fun (and win some prizes!) as Love to Ride runs all year and is free for riders aged 13 or over. Look out for the Cycle September challenge!
Almost 3,000 people have signed up for Love to Ride in our borough, recording some 2.67 million miles in total. Fancy helping us hit three million?
For a range of cycling tips, from planning your route to bike maintenance, check out the dedicated section on our My Journey page.
Keep active, win points and Beat the Street!
We're now into the fourth week of Beat the Street, a popular community game designed to get exploring Wokingham Borough without using the car.
Run by Intelligent Health in partnership with us, it takes place across Wokingham, Winnersh, Woodley, Twyford, Finchampstead, Hurst, Arborfield and Wargrave until Wednesday 17 July.
Players tap either a special contactless card or their phones against "beat boxes" to win points, with a map of beat boxes available online. To play using the app, download it for Apple or Android devices.
This week has the theme of "Go Active" and there's a free family swim pass from Places Leisure, who run our borough's leisure centres, to be won each day. There's also a free day pass at Places Leisure to be won each week too.
We're proud to have reached more than 13,600 players, who've travelled more than 103,000 miles between them. You can also check out the local leaderboards to see how the teams are doing.
School fete showcases pedal power
We had loads of fun at Emmbrook Infant and Junior School's recent summer fair and circus, which was organised by the school's parent-teacher association.
The school is one of our six that we're working with to improve the air quality around it as part of a Government-funded project.
We're helping them to reduce air pollution by encouraging them to walk, wheel and cycle more often instead of being driven.
We had a stand offering a range of prizes, including a ride on our smoothie bike (above), and Dr Bike was on hand to check and fix people's bikes.
Art competition brings a breath of fresh air
What would our borough look like if there weren't any cars? That's the question we're asking as part of a children's art competition to mark Clean Air Day 2024.
You can let your imagination run wild, but be sure to include some greener alternatives like walking, scooting and cycling.
Full details of how to enter and an entry template can be found on our website. Please send your entries to us by Wednesday 10 July.
Cars and vans are the biggest source of harmful chemicals in our air, so we're doing all we can to encourage people to consider not driving when possible.
Upcoming activities and events
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Running Places for Women is a free weekly outdoor running group for women aged 16+ of all abilities to build confidence and fitness. There's a 3km and a 5km route, both starting and finishing at Wokingham Leisure Centre.
- Free Balance Bike Club at FBC (Wednesdays)
- Free Balance Bike Club at Woodford Park Leisure Centre (Thursdays)
- Learn to Ride sessions (£10) at FBC in Finchampstead (Wednesdays)
- Learn to Ride sessions (£10) at Woodford Park Leisure Centre in Woodley (Thursdays)
- Woky Wheels 4 All at FBC in Finchampstead (Thursday mornings)
- Adult Cycle Training for Beginners £11) on Saturday mornings
- Adult Cycle Training for Improvers (£11) on Saturday mornings
- Free bike checks with Dr Bike at St Mary's Church Fete, Shinfield on Saturday, 29 June (between 1pm to 4pm - booking essential)
For more information on our regular cycle training and activities, visit our website.
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