British Cycling is marking today’s International Women’s Day with the announcement of Jess Varnish and Lizzie Armitstead as the new ambassadors for its Breeze programme of female only rides.
Breeze, launched in 2011, aims to help women overcome some of the barriers that prevent them from cycling and its 3,000 local rides in England have had some 17,000 participants to date, with the governing body training 400 riders to become Breeze champions.
Armitstead, winner of the silver medal behind Marianne Vos in the Olympic road race in London last summer, said: “Jess and I are encouraging as many women as possible to get on their bikes and go on a Breeze bike ride. Cycling is a big part of my life and I want as many women out there to experience the fun and social side of riding a bike.
“It’s not as scary as you think because Breeze is here to help you start your cycling journey. From advice on learning how to ride through to local bike rides, Breeze is fantastic and accessible.”
Varnish, who rode the individual pursuit at London 2012 with Victoria Pendleton – the pair’s gold medal dreams were dashed after they were relegated due to an illegal changeover – added: “Cycling gives you a sense of freedom like nothing else. I’m proud to be involved in Breeze as it’s doing such a great job in breaking down the barriers and empowering women to get on their bikes.”
You can find out more about Breeze rides here – typically, they start and finish at a café which gives them a strong social aspect, are aimed at being friendly and informal and mostly include traffic-free routes, are suitable for all ages and abilities, and are described as being perfect for busy mothers or women who haven’t been on their bike for a while.
Damn, that sucks. I generally feel pretty relaxed with my bike on Avanti trains because the compartment is locked and I don't have to worry about...
Interesting, thanks, although I can't find them on Ali Express. Do you have a link?
They are ugly, and presumably require registration to use them. But the argument "it should be car parking instead" is absurd. Surely a camera and...
It's endemic now. Watched a skip lorry jump two reds within 100m on my commute this morning. No intention of stopping.
And if they park on the cycle lane, they're still impacting the flow of traffic. Different traffic - two-wheeled, human-powered traffic rather...
Reducing prices dramatically on stock you have paid full price for means making a loss, margins in the bike industry are slim. You can't increase...
I strugle to think other as cool bikes as this. If my city was flatter and I fitter, I would drool over it....
If RoadCC and similar specialist mass media organs were serious about being not just ethical about climate change factors but about the whole...
Hellish! Barely used, clearly dangerous, slowing competent cyclists down while pandering to the clueless, a serious threat to pedestrians, won't...
"I ran into the back of him because I was traumatised by seeing the latest petrol prices, m'lud"