This Sunday (July 2nd) in Newcastle, hundreds of keen cyclists, of all cycling abilities, will be taking part in the HSBC UK City Ride.
Back in April, British Cycling and HSBC UK confirmed that Newcastle would be one of 14 host cities to stage the free, family-friendly events.
The 8.5 kilometre City Ride route starts at Exhibition Park and will take participants past some of the city’s most iconic sites including the Great North Museum, Grey’s Monument, and the home of Newcastle United Football Club, St James’ Park. The route will also feature an accessible loop, suitable for all adapted bikes.
The event will be the fourth of 14 free-to-attend City Ride events across the country in 2017, and is the first step towards HSBC UK and British Cycling’s ambition to get two million people on bikes by 2020, making cycling the UK’s most popular activity and sport of choice.
The other cities staging the City Rides include Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Southampton.
Councillor Kim McGuinness, cabinet member for culture and communities at Newcastle City Council, said: “The city is preparing to welcome residents and visitors to Newcastle from all over the North East for Sunday’s event. Newcastle is privileged to be a host city for one of the HSBC City Rides. The route provides an excellent backdrop of beautiful buildings and heritage sites for the cyclists to enjoy this weekend.
“Cycling is increasingly popular in Newcastle. It’s a great way to get around and to get exercise. Events like the City Ride show how bike friendly the city is. We know Sunday will be a great day for both cyclists and spectators. We hope it encourages even more people to take up cycling more often.”
Peter Riddell of British Cycling, said: “We’re looking forward to bringing HSBC UK City Ride to Newcastle this Sunday. The people of Newcastle have really embraced the event and we’ve had thousands of people signing up to attend. The atmosphere is guaranteed to be fantastic in the city and will be a true celebration of all things cycling for all ages.”
The events are completely free and participants can either register their participation at www.letsride.co.uk or enter on the day.
The HSBC UK City Ride will be started by Cllr Linda Wright, the Lord Mayor of Newcastle; and the route will be open between 11am and 3pm.