Family bike ride in Brighton draws mass attendance while supporting campaign for safer cycling routes
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
Families took to the streets of Brighton and Hove for a mass bike ride to support a call for safer, connected cycle routes and encouraging more people to take up cycling.
The Kidical Mass event, which began in 2023, is part of a global movement promoting cycling for all ages while pressing for safer networks across towns and cities.
Similar family-friendly rides took place across the UK over the weekend, underlining the demand for better cycling provision nationally, with the Brighton event organised by local groups including Bricycles, Brighton Bike Hub, Brighton Multicultural Women’s Cycle Club, Clean Air for Brighton & Hove, and Old Shoreham Road (OSR) Bike Train.
Duncan Blinkhorn, of Brighton Bike Hub and one of the organisers, said the rides were both a celebration and a call for action. He said: “We've been doing this twice a year, every April and September, for the last few years. It's part of an international movement that's about helping to get children and families on bikes, seeing them as the future and encouraging children to get in the habit of cycling which they can carry forward into adulthood.
“But it’s also to create a bit of pressure for better provision in terms of cycle routes. Brighton and Hove have some very good cycle lanes but there’s just not enough and they're not very well joined up. We want to push for that, but also celebrate the fact that people want to get around by bike. It’s a positive, joyous event.”
Mr Binkhorn added that while progress was being made, recent setbacks showed why events like Kidical Mass remained important. “It's great to see Valley Gardens happening at the moment, but that'll be another year before it’s complete. However, it's very sad that the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane was taken away when there's 6,000 children and young people going to school along that in that area.
“That was a real backward step and we really need to be stepping forward. And so what Kidical Mass does is it shows the enthusiasm that there is from children and adults to get around by bike.”
The last Kidical Mass ride in April drew over 500 cyclists, making it the largest turnout since the campaign began in Brighton and Hove.
For this latest event, the Brighton route began at Preston Park, travelling to The Level to collect more riders before heading to Stanmer Park for Apple Harvest Day, while in Hove cyclists set off from Hove Cemetery, stopping at Hove Park, Wish Park and Stoneham Park, before finishing at Hove Beach Park, with the option of a larger circular ride.