Hayling Herald article for June 2022

Here’s what we submitted for our Hayling Herald June 2022 column, with online links and more pictures …

This month

  • Cycle Safari
  • Revive-A-Bike for Ukraine
  • Bike Week
  • Rides
  • The future of transport
  • Tip of the month

Cycle Safari

The Hayling Cycle Safari has expanded this year to more venues across the whole island. It starts on the first of June with the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations, and runs to the end of September.

It’s a fun event for all the family. Cycle to the participating venues, and collect a sticky label for your entry form. Collect enough to claim a specially made Hayling Island Platinum Jubilee tube of suncream to clip to your bike or belt. And you’ll need it – we deserve a brilliant summer. Collect more to claim a unique Hayling Island Platinum Jubilee plaque, personalised for you right here on the island. Or you can just do it for fun, as many times as you like!

It’s organised and funded by Hampshire County Councillor Lance Quantrill, with the support of Cycle Hayling and many wonderful venues all around the island, navigating by Cycle Hayling’s all new Cycling and Walking map.

Entry forms on our website at cyclehayling.org.uk/safari, or from some venues.

Revive-A-Bike for Ukraine

Hayling Helps Ukraine has now helped several families onto Hayling, and of course, they want to get mobile. So a huge thank you to Hayling Cycles (no relation to Cycle Hayling) for doing a Revive-A-Bike on at least two bikes and providing help and free parts for Cycle Hayling to do four more.

Bike Week

This year’s Bike Week runs from Monday 6th -12th June. Take a Bike Week challenge, to improve your skills, to test yourself, or just for fun! Can you ride one-handed? Can you pop a wheelie!? Can you set your kids a slalom challenge? How about a bike picnic, or riding to school? Cycling UK lists 33 great challenges for all ages and abilities, at cyclinguk.org/bikeweek. That’s 34 with the Hayling Cycle Safari!

Rides

If you’re looking to get started on your bike, come along to Cycle Hayling’s beginner rides on the last Wednesday of each month, 10am at the Community Centre. These are very gentle, short, social rides, aimed to help build riding confidence. We’ll adapt each ride to whoever turns up and answer questions about bikes or riding. In the meantime, we have lots of tips to help get you cycling on our website, at cyclehayling.org/get-cycling.

The future of transport

As we’ve said many times, Hayling will be first under the sea if we don’t fix the climate emergency – if we don’t gridlock first. As transport accounts for nearly half of Hampshire’s climate emissions, tackling them will also tackle Hayling’s gridlock. Like all Councils, Hampshire has published it’s hugely ambitious Local Transport Plan to do just that.

Cycling and walking are top of the list. The government won’t fund councils who aren’t ambitious enough, or who don’t consult properly with residents – so please see cyclehayling.org/consult to respond before 26th June, and help bring us funding for better Hampshire transport.

Tip of the month

Improve you and your kids riding skills with the Bike Week slalom challenge. Find a safe space, get some bullet-proof markers such as stones, sticks or chalk marks, and lay them down in a line or circle. Then ride slowly in and out of them to build your balance, control and confidence. See how close you can put them without falling off. Give yourself a clap – an extra one if you can clap while you’re riding!

More

Much more, including our previous columns, on our website at cyclehayling.org.