Cycling in Dublin

New Canal Way Cycle Track Lights

As Dublin City Council prepares to open sections of the new Grand Canal cycle track, a new signalling system is being introduced for the first time in Ireland:

The Dublin City Tweed Cycle

The Tweed Run is a group bicycle ride through the centre of Dublin, in which the cyclists are expected to dress in traditional cycling attire, particularly tweed plus four suits, blazers or dresses! Any bicycle is acceptable on the Tweed Run, but classic vintage bicycles are encouraged. Some effort to recreate the spirit of a bygone era is always appreciated.

On Saturday 17th September the Club shall depart from The Front Square, Trinity College Dublin, at 3pm for a metropolitan bicycle ride with a sense of style. We shall make our way to the Pheonix Park Castle Cafe for tea and scones before taking in some of the Greater Dublin Georgian scenery on the return journey to the City Centre where a charity BBQ in aid of Barnardos will be held.

Route

Nassau St – Kildare St – Baggot St – Pembroke St – Leeson St _ St Stephens Green – Aungier St – Georges St – Dame St – Christchurch – High St – Lower Bridge St – Ushers Quay – Victoria Quay – Conyngham Rd – Chesterfield Ave – Pheonix Park Castle Cafe – Chesterfield Ave – Wolfe Tone Quay – Ormond Quay – Custom House Quay – Sean O’casey bridge – City Quay – College Green

You can find us and RSVP on Facebook under ‘Dublin City Tweed Cycle’.

Sky Ride Dublin

Sky Ride is coming to Dublin!

Sky Ride is a campaign that started in the UK to inspire and help everyone, whatever their age or ability, to get on their bikes and have fun, and it’s coming to Dublin on Sunday 11th September. It is a fun, free family day out brought to you by Sky and Dublin City Council, providing the perfect opportunity to get back on your bike. So why not join us for the day and ride your bike through Dublin’s streets without a car in sight!

The Sky Ride initiative will give thousands of people the freedom to enjoy riding their bikes with family and friends while seeing some of the city’s landmarks and attractions from a fresh perspective. Approximately 8km of the city centre’s roads will be closed to traffic, and we are calling on people to pump up their tyres, oil that chain, and polish up that saddle in preparation for a great free family day out!

Enjoy some of the sights of Dublin free from cars for the day. Take part in the free entertainment on offer for all ages and find out how enjoyable cycling can be. The traffic-free route around the city centre is entirely open and optional, so you can come and go as you please and ride for as long as you choose. Participants can cycle the route at their own pace, and enjoy an array of entertainment along the way. It’s free and easy to register and anyone, young or old, can get involved, no matter how wobbly you might be on two wheels!

Also, every registered participant has the chance to win a 3D TV and Sky subscription package free for a whole year.

To find out more and to register see www.goskyride.com/Dublin

Tour de Picnic

Tour de Picnic for Temple Street is back! Once again this unique challenge will combine a fantastic feel-good 80km cycle with Irelands much loved Music and Arts Festival, the Electric Picnic, all to raise vital funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. In 2010 our cyclists raised over a quarter of a million for the children of Temple Street and we are hoping to break that record for 2011!!

Tour de Picnic is THE most enjoyable way to get to the Electric Picnic! On the 2nd September 1,000 cyclists will depart from Dublin with friendly experts from 2Wheels Cycles traveling with you all the way to advise and lead the groups on a protected cycle route along the quiet, scenic back roads to Stradbally. There will be mechanics on hand to help with any problematic bikes and ensure that everyone arrives in Stradbally safely and in time to enjoy the first beats from the main stage at Electric Picnic. Avoid traffic tail backs and enjoy the lovely countryside and fresh air en route to the festival.

Participants will be asked to fundraise a minimum amount for the challenge and in return will be given a precious and much sought-after weekend ticket to the 2011 festival upon completing their cycle. Your bag and tent for the weekend will be transported for you and will be waiting there for collection when you arrive at the specially constructed and secure bicycle parking site on the Stradbally Estate. Following the festival you will be brough back to Dublin to collect your bicycle on the Sunday or Monday. It really doesn’t get much better than this!

Whether you cycle to work or for fun, or haven’t been on a bike since you were 12…it’s time to get festival fit. Join the thousands of people who have been hooked by the cycling bug. It’s healthy, economic, environmentally friendly and most of all it’s a fun way to help support sick and injured children in Ireland!

For further information on this years event  simply log on to www.tourdepicnic.ie for further information.

Love Music, Love Cycling, Love Temple Street this September.

Cycling Symphonies: a musical cycling tour around Dublin

The Dutch Embassy Dublin and Bear Bicycles (a company selling Dutch bicycles in Dublin) will be bringing an Amsterdam Choir ‘Koor de Stemming’ (www.koordestemming.nl) to perform ‘Cycling Symphonies’: a musical cycling tour through Dublin on Saturday, July 23^rd.

Koor de Stemming will be giving short, free, a capella concerts on the streets of Dublin, in a hit and run style. To get from one concert location to the next, the Choir will be using classic matte black Dutch bicycles from Bear Bicycles. The Choir’s classical black concert clothes will match the style of the bikes. The Choir’s conductor will be transported in a delivery bike, and he will be using the front cargo load of that delivery bike as a pedestal when conducting the Choir.

Koor de Stemming will be singing in 7 characteristic Dublin locations. Bear bicycles will reveal those concert locations on their website on Wednesday, July 20^th. Joost Schouten, conductor for Koor de Stemming, says: ‘we bring classical music, in a cheerful and atmospeheric way. The goal is to surprise people and to bring a smile to their faces. Music from Dutch composers like Sweelinck should do just that’.

Irish Filmmaker Paddy Cahill and Dutch filmmaker Boele Weemhof will be documenting the Cycling Symphonies on film. After the concerts, their film will be made available through the websites of the Dutch Embassy and Bear Bicycles.

For forther information see:

http://www.netherlandsembassy.ie

www.bear-bicycles.com

Cuba Cycle Challenge 2011

Challenge yourself to make a difference as part of an adventure to remember. Enjoy this incredible experience which challenges you to get fit and raise much needed funds for the Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

The Cuba Cycle Challenge 2011 will take place from the 6-14th November 2011.

This will be the third year we run the Cuba Cycle Challenge, and this year we have a brand new route offering our participants the journey of a lifetime! On this fully supported trip you will experience some the most beautiful views and historical sites Cuba has to offer and there is no better way to soak it all in than by bike. Also escape the winter blues of Ireland in November to the glorious semi-tropical climate averaging at around 27⁰C at this time of year!

Here are just some of the trips highlights:

· A walking tour in Trinidad with Caribbean Beach Lunch Stop

· Ché Guevara’s Mausoleum

· Hike to Caburní Falls, deep in the Escambray Mountains

· Old Havana walking tour, a UNESCO world heritage site

· A visit to a traditional Cuban Music Venue

To really see what the trip is like click here to view our CUBA CHALLENGE VIDEO!
The terrain is undulating with some steep inclines and downhill descents with a distance totalling 260km over 4 days of cycling. The longest day of cycling is 79km. But in the evenings relax in good quality hotels, all with swimming pools! Training notes will be provided to get you into tip-top condition!

The trip is fully supported with a dedicated team including a Blazing Saddles Cycle tour manager, a fully qualified Cuban doctor, a Cuban national cycle team mechanic and an English speaking local tour guide and a support vehicle available at all times.

Over the past two years our cyclists have raised an impressive €120,000 for families in Ireland struggling to cope with the devastating condition of Alzheimer’s disease. By signing up you too can help these families to obtain the services that they so urgently need

For further information please call Emily on 01-207-3816 or email ebrew@alzheimer.ie

Directions to Grand Canal Square

Grand Canal Square is located in the south Docklands area, just beside the Samuel Beckett Bridge. The location map illustrates some routes you could take to get there.

For those of you planning to use a Dublin Bike, check out the map below which shows some of the Dublin Bike Stations near to Grand Canal Square.

Best Company Team Prize up for Grabs

On Wednesday 22^nd June, Dublin City Council will host a public “Lunchtime Bike Ride” in the city as part of Dublin City Council’s Bike to Work Day initiative @ 12.45 from Grand Canal Square.

Be part of this fun event and be in with a chance to win prizes – the Best Company Team (most people from one organisation), will win lunch at ely gastro pub (vouchers to the value of €10 for each member of the team) and a bottle of Isotonic Non-Alcoholic Erdinger on the day! To enter the Best Team competition simply contact us @ www.dublincitycycling.ie/contact with the name of your Company, the number of members in your team, and the name of your team contact.

There are also prizes for Best Dressed male, Best Dressed Female, and for the best dressed bike! The first 500 people to register will get a goody bag filled with cycling enthusiasts gadgets and everyone who registers online is in with a chance to win an Apple iPad2.

The 2011 Bike to Work incentive is aimed at ALL employers and employees working in Dublin City to encourage them to adopt this increasingly popular method of transport. It reported that 40% of car journeys in Dublin are less than 5km. Since the introduction of the Dublin Bike scheme, which is the most successful of its kind in the world, the city has seen an increase of 30% of people travelling by bike.  Bicycle-friendly businesses can benefit from encouraging employees to cycle to work, as research has shown that those who cycle to work are less frequently ill and average less absenteeism than colleagues who do not cycle.

The leisurely lunchtime cycle through the streets of Dublin, will take in the Samuel Beckett Bridge, City Quay, Merrion Square, The Pepper Canister Church and part of the new Premium Cycle Route along the Grand Canal.

Electric Bike Challenge

As part of National Bike week, Dublin’s first ever ‘beat the traffic electric bike challenge’, is taking place on Tuesday 21st June. The challenge is open to all e-bike cyclists and drivers that want to take us on!

The challenge is about putting the e-bike to the test against the gas guzzler as a way of commuting to work but is not just about who arrives to Howth in first place, although we are sure we will!!

It is also to highlight how as an e-bike cyclist you benefit from fresh air, gentle exercise (or a lot if you turn down your power!), big savings and avoiding the stress caused by sitting in traffic.

The challenge starts from the Samuel beckett bridge in Grand canal to the finish line in Howth at 6pm, where lots of goodies await..

For those who don’t take part in the challenge you can try your e-bike for a short stroll or even as far as the summit! All evening from 6.30pm in Howth there will be a full range of e-bikes for trial, delicious free food & refreshments, prizes and lots of fun activities.

TO ENTER:

BY EMAIL: info@electricbicycles.ie Include your Name & Phone Number and one of the following: I want to reserve an e-bike/ I am an e-bike owner/ I am travelling by car.   BY PHONE: 01 6747849

DETAILS:

• We can provide participants with an electric bike for the challenge (first come first serve basis)
• The group will depart at 6pm from the Samuel Beckett Bridge in Grand Canal Square
• The journey time is approx 45 minutes
• Final Destination is Findlaters Bar near Howth Dart station (to get you home again)
• The challenge is open to anyone over 21.

Fade Street Flicks

Outdoor Cinema Event at Dartmouth Square

As part of Bike Week, on Friday 24th of June, Fade Street in the city centre will be host to an outdoor cinema event from 9pm to 12 midnight. The plan is to locate the outdoor screen near the Fade Street/Drury Street junction and  to gather round and watch a selection of the coolest bike clips and short movies that we can find. Suggestions are welcome! So if you are free on Friday why not join us for a fun and free night of cinema and cycling.

*Due to bad weather forecasts for Friday evening, Fade Street Flicks has been cancelled. Dublin City Council regret any inconvenience caused and hope to host this event at another time. Keep an eye on the website for details.*