— New cycling safety standard ‘Cycle Right’ will piloted in schools this Autumn
Bike Week 2015 was formally launched by the transport minister Paschal Donohoe this morning, where he also announced that cycling training standard Cycle Right will be piloted in schools this Autumn.
The cycling promotion week will this year place throughout Ireland from June 13 to June 21. Details of events will be online at bikeweek.ie.
Sligo has been chosen to host the opening event for Bike Week on Saturday June 13 where a family bicycle festival is taking place in Cleveragh Regional Park.
Minister Donohoe said: “I know from my own recent family holiday, where we cycled along the Great Western Greenway in County Mayo, the enjoyment that cycling can bring. I’m delighted to see so many family friendly events planned for Bike Week 2015 which I know will encourage people to consider cycling and I would urge people to visit the Bike Week website (www.bikeweek.ie) to find about their local events. Cycling is a convenient, healthy, cost effective and environmentally friendly way to get around. As a committed cyclist, and in my role as Minister for Transport, I am happy to see a steady upward trend in cycling as outline by an NTA report recently which states that the number of people cycling today is more than double that of 2006.”
“We now need to increase the numbers cycling to school to continue that growth. The number of school events taking place during Bike Week 2015 is crucial to achieving that goal. My Department is funding a new cycling standard Cycle Right that will pilot in schools this Autumn and which will be rolled out across 2016. I would urge parents to use the opportunities provided by Bike Week 2015 to get out on their bikes with their children and experience how much fun cycling can be.”
A statement from the Department of Transport said that this year’s events include family fun cycles, bike care and safety skills training, a workshop in Cloughjordan in Tipperary on how to make your own bike from recycled materials, heritage cycles including one in Galway, aptly named ‘Slí na gCaisleáin’ (the way of the castles) which takes in seven castles in its route. Other events include mountain bike skills training in Barrow, Co Carlow and Ballyhoura, Co Limerick, a week long bike festival in The Phoenix Park that includes a bicycle themed film festival and much more.
The department added: “All Bike Week events are free to the public and open to people of all ages and cycling abilities. A complete listing of events taking place throughout the country can be found by logging on to Bikeweek.ie.”