Women only cycle rides coming to London, Edinburgh, Cambridge and other UK cities

More women are being ecouraged to join Britain’s growing ranks of female cyclists with a series of women-only rides in the coming months, starting with an event in London in March that celebrates International Women Day, which will be followed by other rids around the UK in Edinburgh, Cambridge, Liverpool, Nottingham and further afield.

Organised by London Cycle Campaign (LCC), the London ride starts at 2pm on Sunday 7 March in the gardens of the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth, with the marshalled ride heading for the Shortwave Bar & Cinema in Bermondsey where there will be an after-party, including films and music, from 4pm.

The theme of the ride is ‘Reclaim the Roads’, and LCC is inviting route suggestions, which could include passing places of historical interest, as well as nominations of “famous or extraordinary women from history” for inclusion in a competition on the day.

There is a form on the LCC website for those wishing to take part in the ride or register to volunteer as marshals, or who simply be kept in touch with news about the event.

That will be followed on Saturday 20 March by a fashion-themed event in Cambridge which organisers say is “aimed at, but not exclusively for, women and girls.”

Called Ride For Joy – the name is said to redefine ‘joyriding’ – the free event takes place from 2pm to 4.30pm and aims to encourage more females to choose cycling for their daily transport by demonstrating that you can ride a bike while wearing normal, everyday clothes, taking inspiration from the website, Copenhagen Cycle Chic.

Full details of the event will be available on the Cambridge Cycling Campaign website shortly.

Meanwhile, the Breast Cancer Campaign has announced four Pedal It Pink rides, which challenge women to complete either a 13.1-mile Half Marathon course or the full distance of 26.2 miles, as well as a family-friendly 5 kilometre lap.

Those take place at the Lee Valley Regional Park in London (28 March), Sefton Park in Liverpool (18 April), Holyrood Park in Edinburgh (16 May) and the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham (17 October).

Full details of the events and how to register can be found on the charity’s website, which also has details of its more challenging rides, including a three-day London to Paris trip (30 July-2 August or 28-30 August) and a two-week tour of Vietnam (11-22 November).

Finally, places are still available on a women’s only charity ride from York to Amsterdam in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, which will see 60 women cycle from York to Hull then Rotterdam to Amsterdam and back again, a total of 250 miles.

Organised by Charity Adventure and now in its fourth year, the five day Amsterdame10 trip leaves York on 11 June and registration is still open on the event website, which also has reports and photographs of previous editions.

These rides (the Pedal it Pink ones will be on as soon as we can confirm start time) and others can of course be found on our new cycling events calendar, which will help find events and let you plan your year to get the most of your cycling during 2010.