This September, Bicester BUG took part in Oxfordshire’s Celebration of Cycling along with other cycling organisations in the county. If you came along to any of our events, we hope you enjoyed them as much as we did.

Our events calendar kicked off with a screening of Motherload held at Coles Bookshop. The documentary followed the journey of people around the globe replacing their cars with cargo bikes, and provided food for thought on how we can replace more car journeys and transport larger loads by bike. This was followed shortly after by two more screenings of Why We Cycle and Together We Cycle at the Eco Business Centre in Elmsbrook. The two films explore Dutch cycling culture, charting the events of a country seemingly ruled by the car to the inspiring images of the cycling society we see today, and led to discussions about where the UK’s cycling infrastructure is in comparison and how we might like to see it develop.

We held our Market Stall at the Bicester Friday Market at the beginning of October, speaking with residents about what they enjoy about cycling in Bicester and what they would like to see improved; common themes of safer cycle routes and more bike parking emerged. To rest our tired legs, we headed off to the Wriggly Monkey for our first Bicester BUG regular social meeting where we had a night of great food and great company. We will be holding these on the first Friday evening of every month, so keep an eye on our Facebook page for location details as the weather changes. We’d love to meet more current and prospective members, so please come along for like-minded talk and good beer.

The celebration culminated in the start of the Women’s Tour where we saw fifty female riders from the local community ride out ahead of the start of the race. It was a fantastic day, and uplifting to see the enthusiasm the town had for the event. We hope that Bicester will make the most of this momentum and make active travel the basis for getting around the town.  

Thank you to everyone who came along to make our Celebration of Cycling events such a success, watch this space for our next plans!