May 2013  

It's a Breeze for the GWR!

We're delighted to announce that British Cycling's Breeze, the biggest programme ever to get more women riding their bikes for fun, has joined forces with the Great Weston Ride as our newest Event Partner and, more specifically, our Women's Cycling Development Partner.

Breeze is a fantastic initiative - it was established two years ago when British Cycling set up a programme designed to tackle barriers facing women and provide as many fun and free opportunities as possible to help them to get back on their bikes, and they're now helping thousands more women feel confident and comfortable about going on a ride.   

Today there are over 450 Breeze champions across England who organise bike rides on a daily basis. Without their amazing energy, enthusiasm and commitment to get women bike riding, British Cycling simply wouldn't be able to offer these exciting experiences. And many rides have been developed to incorporate longer distances up to 30 miles for those wishing to take their cycling that little bit further.

As a result of initiatives like Breeze, the number of women cycling has risen dramatically in the last 12 months - almost 63,000 more women are cycling regularly.

Breeze has its own website (Breezebikerides.com) that doesn't just give women access to hundreds of free bike rides, there are also some golden nuggets to help them to continue their cycling journey. And Breeze's partnership with the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) promotes independent, female-friendly bike shops that support women new to bike riding with straightforward advice, a range of women's bikes and family kit, and information on local rides and bike hire facilities.

One of the aims of this partnership is to encourage even more women to get out on their bikes and experience the enjoyment and sense of achievement that the Ride has to offer, and if any women out there need a bit of help, advice or company along the way Breeze could be the perfect place to look!

More generally, British Cycling also offers membership that provides support and benefits to ALL cyclists. Being a member means lots of benefits however you ride, and it's also a way to show support for the great work that British Cycling does for all cyclists from the playground to the podium.

You can become a member of British Cycling for just over £2 per month. For this, you'll receive free liability insurance and legal advice, full access to BC's Insight Zone, discounts on the latest cycling gear at leading cycling retailers and much more. For more information and/or to become a British Cycling member go to britishcycling.org.uk/membership.

So, as you can see, British Cycling has an awful lot to offer and we're delighted to welcome Breeze on board!

And, of course, it would be great if you could help us to spread the word and get more women on their bikes!

April 2013  

Something For The Kids Too!

We're always looking at ways to develop and grow our end-of-Ride facilities and offering, and we're pleased to announce that in 2013 we will once again be putting on some fun, FREE 'Go Ride'-type racing sessions for youngsters and novice riders at the seafront finish in Weston.

The idea is to give friends and family - and in particular any youngsters who might be coming to the finish area - something fun to do while they wait to welcome and cheer riders across the finish line. The sessions are open to any novice riders under 16 years of age, and the aim is just to have a bit of fun racing on a grass course right next to the Ride finish area.

Anyone interested in taking part simply needs to bring their own bike and a helmet (NB helmets are compulsory), and all they need to be able to do is ride unsupported (so probably ages 5+). If there's sufficient interest there will possibly be two afternoon sessions to participate in and riders will be grouped according to age/experience/ability, depending on demand on the day.

'Go Ride' racing is a British Cycling initiative intended to introduce youngsters to cycle sport in a fun and enjoyable way, and the sessions will be run in accordance with British Cycling guidelines by qualified and experienced coaches from our cycling club partner, BCDS (Bristol Cycling Development Squad).

The sessions will be organised and overseen by BCDS Head Coach Dan Coast, who has a wealth of experience in coaching young people and organising these types of sessions, and any youngsters who enjoy the sessions would also be more than welcome to talk to Dan about possibly joining the youth-oriented BCDS for further coaching and general cycling opportunities.

Please note that there's no charge to take part (we'll pay the small levy per rider required by British Cycling) and all we need from parents of participants is a completed 'Rider Details & Consent' form (available HERE).

It would be really useful to have an idea of possible numbers, so if you think that this might be of interest to your child(ren), grandchild(ren), nephews, nieces etc it would be really helpful if you could complete one form per child and email it/them to us in advance. And by all means spread the word to any friends or family who might be interested in joining in - the more the merrier!

So, the facility will be there ready & waiting (weather permitting, of course!) - all you need to do is let us know if you have (or know) someone who would like to take part and give it a go!

Remember - it's all just about having a bit of FUN!

March 2013  

NEW! Great Weston Ride Cycling Jersey

We've come up with a design for our very own cycling jersey this year (see below) to help raise awareness of the Ride, and it's fair to say that we're very pleased with the finished product!

And it seems that we're not the only ones who like it - having unveiled the jersey on our Facebook page and Twitter we've had a lot of great feedback and really positive comments from people, and we've also actually received a number of enquiries asking about the possibility of buying one of the jerseys.

Having looked into it more closely, we've decided that it's something that we'd be happy to make available if there's sufficient interest and we'd like to do it in support of our official charity partner, Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK).

This means that one of these could be yours quite soon and we're more than willing to supply and deliver it at cost, however we would also like to add an amount on top (around £10 per jersey) by way of a donation to PCUK.

So the actual purchase price is likely to be in the region of £35-£38 (tbc) including P&P - remember, with all net proceeds going to PCUK - and we hope that this is acceptable to anyone who would like to buy the jersey.

In the first instance, therefore, in order to get things moving we'd like to gauge levels of genuine interest and, in particular, to try to understand how many jerseys of each size we need to order initially.

The jersey is made from COOLMAX material, it has a ¼-length zip and the usual three rear pockets, and it comes in standard UK sizes (S/M/L/XL/XXL/XXXL etc). However, please note that it is what we would describe as a 'snug' fit, so if you like your clothing fairly tight-fitting then simply go for your normal shirt size. On the other hand, if you're borderline between two sizes or unsure, or if you prefer a slightly looser fit, then it might be advisable to plump for one size up (see below for more guidance).

If this is of interest to you, all we need at this stage is to know WHAT SIZE(S) YOU'D LIKE TO ORDER - so either post a message at www.facebook.com/greatwestonride or email us at mail@greatwestonride.com to register your interest and to let us know your preferred size.

This will enable us to place an initial order with the manufacturer within the next few days (delivery is likely to be 5-6 weeks) and then we'll put something up on the website where you can confirm your order and complete the purchase.

Remember - if this is of interest please get in touch ASAP, and we look forward to hearing from you!

JERSEY SIZE - FOR GUIDANCE

If it helps to illustrate, I'm what might be described as a 'chunky monkey' (as opposed to 'Slim Jim') build with a normal chest size of XL and, while I can get into the XL jersey reasonably well, personally I'm more comfortable with the XXL size. Whereas my 'Slim Jim' build 18-year-old son is perfectly happy with a medium jersey, which is the same size as he wears in other clothing.

Slightly embarrassing, but hope that helps!

February 2013  

2013 Fundraising Incentives

March is officially 'Prostate Cancer Awareness Month' and to reinforce our association with Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK), the leading charity combating this dreadful disease in the UK, we've got not one but TWO additional incentives for anyone who feels that they can use their participation and efforts to support this important cause.

As you may already know, riders who fundraise for PCUK and raise over £200 (excluding Gift Aid) will receive one of the charity's fab new cycling jerseys (worth c. £40) completely FREE by way of thanks for their support. 

And we're also now pleased to confirm that there's another little 'thank you' on offer:

It's very simple - anyone who raises £100 or more in sponsorship for the charity will be sent one of these great waterproof rucksack covers. Very practical, we're sure you'll agree!

But that's not all: because 2013 is a massively important year for PCUK and we really want to see as much support as possible, we're going to offer a further incentive - anyone who supports the charity via the Great Weston Ride and raises JUST £50 or more will go into a draw to win FREE ENTRY FOR LIFE* to the Ride from 2014 onwards!

So, just to recap, if you're able to sign up to support PCUK this year and you:

• raise £50 or more - you're in the draw to win that LIFETIME free entry!
  
• raise £100 or more - you're in the draw, AND you get the rucksack cover!
  
• raise £200 or more - you're in the draw; you get the rucksack cover; AND you get the lovely cycling jersey!

Hopefully this will encourage you to at least consider whether you can support the charity's efforts to combat prostate cancer among men and, who knows, it may be YOUR father, brother, husband, partner, grandfather, friend, or colleague who benefits from your help.

There's further information (including how to start fundraising) on our 'Charity Partner' page, and it would be great to see a massive response with people joining 'Team PCUK' this year and raising whatever sponsorship they can!

GO ON - YOU KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!

* All eligible riders' names will be entered into a draw and one lucky winner will be drawn at the end of August. The person whose name is selected will be entitled to free entry (non-transferable) to the Great Weston Ride every year that the event takes place.

January 2013  

2013 Rider Medal - But Which One?!

Riders were given a choice of medal designs for 2013.  Read more HERE

December 2012

2013 Prostate Cancer UK Cycling Jersey

Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK) is once again the Great Weston Ride's official Charity Partner and in 2013 there's a brand new look following the charity's change of name and re-brand earlier this year.

Click HERE to read more

November 2012

Partner Update

We've got some great partners on board again supporting the 2013 Ride - to find out more, click HERE

November 2012

2012 Fundraising Update

We've had a lot of enquiries about the total 2012 fundraising effort and so we thought that it would be helpful to provide an update.

To read more, click HERE