Flower-power Elgar rides into town

If you are into gardening as well as cycling, you probably are interested in the Spring Gardening Show this weekend, watching it on TV even if not going along. This year, make sure you check out Gardeners World (Fri 9th May, 8pm and available online afterwards) as they check out Great Malvern’s first attempt at a floral window display competition, Blooming Hills.

Riding High Gallery put together a floral cyclist delivering “Elgar’s Picnic” on the old grocers bike which lives outside the shop. (I guess this isn’t actually meant to be Elgar - no moustache!) Proprietor Mike Austin was interviewed by Joe Swift for the programme.

NEWS UPDATE: Mike and Mel won this inaugural Blooming Hills competition, with the Van Gogh display at the gallery and Flora, the lifesize floral female put together by the hairdressers being runners-up.

Hereford MP moves office by bike

Hereford Pedicabs have been expanding the range of cycle-powered services they offer in the city - not just bike taxis but acting as couriers and office recycling facilities. Now they’ve even done an office removal, for local LibDem MP Paul Keetch. See the MPs news item, or the Mules for the masses blog for a snap.

So now one politician has shown support of low-impact transport, will others follow, and maybe even do something practical for everyday cyclists?

Another cycling event in Worcester

The current ‘Word on Worcestershire’, the county council’s rag, announces that Pedal in the Park, held alongside the Tour of Britain last year, will be happening again in 2008. This time on Saturday 19th July, again in Gheluvelt Park in the centre of Worcester.

Should be a fun day covering all sorts of cycling, ‘have a go’ on bikes ranging from the practical to peculiar, safety checks etc. More details when we have them.

Unfortunately there are no plans to re-run the similar, but smaller, Get Cycling event in Malvern

Snap a sustainable commute, bag a bike

A new organisation (merging two existing ones), ACT Travelwise, is running a photo & caption competition - send one of someone where you work “commuting without a car” for your chance to win one of TWO folding bicycles and ONE year’s ACT Travelwise membership for your organisation.

ACT Travelwise seeks to reduce the economic costs of congestion, the environmental damage of traffic pollution and the personal health consequences of car dependency. Choosing to walk, cycle, car share or use public transport can save individuals and businesses time and money and improve health as well.

But hurry, entries close 4th April.

A little more cycle training

Government funding for cycle training for children (Bikeability) for 2008/09 has been announced. Worcestershire County Council will get £18,000 to train 450 kids. Doesn’t look like Herefordshire asked for any money, though.

Cycling round the web

The Sunday Times had a good round up of web links for cyclists yesterday, covering a lot of stuff particularly relevant to those newer to cycling around town and lane. There’s even a few I hadn’t come across before - no doubt I’ll be adding them to the links list here soon.

New cycling strategy for Brum

While quite a few people commute from Malvern to Birmingham (by train), I don’t suppose many cycle round the city. But the draft cycling strategy put together by Birmingham City Council and the Birmingham Health and Well Being Partnership, to encourage more people in Birmingham to cycle more often, might be of interest anyway. Any comments to them by 30th April.

More kids on bikes please

Perhaps we should ask Madeleine Sumner, MHDC transport officer, about this at the next Cycle Malvern meeting on Monday:

From Bike Radar “Sustainable transport charity Sustrans is providing free training for teachers, parents and other school representatives at events being held in England and Scotland today (6th March) to help boost healthy school travel.”

Not in Malvern this time round, but how about later in the year?

Green cycling, or really green

The venerable Sierra Club in the US, which has been concerned about environmental issues just a  little longer than most (from 1892) quotes an appropriate British author:

“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race,” wrote H.G. Wells. The perfection of the humble bicycle may, in fact, turn out to be the 19th century’s greatest gift to the modern era. Anytime you ride a bicycle, you’re building up some serious green karma, and we salute you. But there’s green and then there’s really green.

Go to their How Green is My Bike Ride quiz to find out just how green your bicycle riding really is.

Thanks to Bike For All for that.

Mayhem coming our way

Most local cyclists won’t realise it, but Mountain Mayhem, the “biggest 24 hour race in the world” takes place in Eastnor Castle’s Deer Park every June. There is apparently a rush for bookings when the entry form goes live (midnight Friday, 29th Feb), according to Bike Radar. It’s off-road mountain biking with a variety of team and individual categories.

New this year is a ’sportive’ (onroad) 100km ride on the Sunday, 22nd June. This follows some of our favourite routes, kicking off with Castlemorton Common (watch out for cows on the road!) over the Hills via British Camp, Colwall, Bosbury, Woolhope Dome, Capler Hill, Hole in the Wall (almost to Ross) and back eastwards through Dymock and Ledbury. Could be interesting.