Making a Difference Awards

The UMBUG projects team were awarded Highly Commended in the Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Sustainability (staff) category at last night’s Making a Difference Awards organised by the Social Responsibility team.

Gabriele Schliwa for the Manchester Cycling Lab – Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Sustainability (student) award winner
Christina Mott for the Get on Your Bike campaign – Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Sustainability (student) highly commended

Congratulations to everyone involved in UMBUG and all the other inspirational winners and highly commended entrants.

Give Your Car a Rest Day 19/06/15

Give Your Car a Rest Day 19/06/15

The University has developed its first ever ‘Give Your Car a Rest Day’ on Friday 19th June aimed at those staff that usually commute by car. The University will host thousands of visitors on 19th June for the open day and staff car drivers are being encouraged, where feasible, to make a change to their usual habits and leave their car at home. This is a great excuse to give cycling a go.

The event will be promoted on Tuesday 12th May (11am to 3pm) in the ground floor foyer of University Place. Staff will be able to find out more about the travel options available and register for a Personalised Travel Plan. Of course, UMBUG will be there too to promote cycling.

For the 60% of staff who already travel sustainably on a regular basis, including cyclists, there will be a special prize draw supported by the Environmental Sustainability Team and Student Recruitment. There are x4 £50 vouchers up for grabs on 12th May (Blackwells, Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op or Sweatshop). To enter, send a photo of yourself on your sustainable commute to Twitter or Facebook using #restcarUoM on 12th May by 1pm or visit the Environmental Sustainability stall on 12th May (by 1pm) with evidence that you travelled in sustainably (eg. with your bike helmet or photo).

So please think about cycling to work on Friday 19th June, and encouraging your colleagues to do the same, and visit University Place on Tuesday 12th May for help and support.

TfGM casting call for TV ad

Would you like to get involved in helping TfGM promote cycling in Greater Manchester? Transport for Greater Manchester are holding a casting call for cyclists to appear in their new cycling campaign launching in June.

TfGM are looking for people of all ages and backgrounds, who are comfortable in front of the camera to have their picture taken and be filmed cycling for a new TV ad. No modelling or acting experience is required, all you need is your own bike. All participants will be paid £150 + expenses. TfGM will be meeting with anyone interested between 20-24th April and the photo shoot and filming will be between 27th April and 1st May.

If you’d like to get involved all you need to do is send a picture of yourself posing with your bike to mark.v@divacreative.com or call Mark on 0114 221 0378 for more information.

Making a Difference Awards

The UMBUG projects team has been nominated and shortlisted for a Making a Difference Award for Social Responsibility, in the environmental sustainability category.

The team was nominated for:

promoting cycling at the University;
seeking the views and ideas of current and ‘would be’ cyclists in order to make cycling more appealing, safer and more secure; and
working with (and lobbying) the University to ensure sufficient provision of appropriate facilities.

The UMBUG entry was shortlisted from more than a hundred and we’ll find out if we’ve won an award at the Making a Difference Awards on Thursday 7th May. Congratulations to all of those involved.

TfGM Better By Cycle Challenge

The Transport for Greater Manchester Better By Cycle Challenge returns in April 2015. Throughout the month you can log your bicycle miles in the latest challenge. It’s free to enter and there are spot prizes for participants. You can compare your performance on the leaderboards, including one for the University of Manchester (just remember to select The University of Manchester when you sign up – listed under T).

Manchester Cycle Forum 10/03/15

The next meeting of the Manchester cycle forum will be on Tuesday 10th March from 5.30pm in Committee Room 4 of the Town Hall.

The Manchester Cycle Forum is a voice for everyone interested in cycling. They meet quarterly to discuss cycling-related issues and promote opportunities for cycling in Manchester. It is an opportunity to meet council staff, councillors and other interested parties to exchange views and ideas that can help make cycling safer. The forum welcomes new and novice cyclists who want a greater understanding of cycle projects.

The 2015 Manchester cycle forum meetings are on:

Tuesday 10 March 2015
Tuesday 16 June 2015
Tuesday 15 September 2015
Tuesday 8 December 2015

Email cycle.forum@manchester.gov.uk to be added to the mailing list.

International Women’s Day and related cycling events in March

As part of this year’s International Women’s Day, #MCRWomenBike want to celebrate the fact so many women across Greater Manchester are riding their bikes and encourage more women and girls to get biking. To do this they’ve launched a photo campaign and organised an event on Saturday 7th March. Full details of the #MCRWomenBike photo campaign are available on their website. All photographs will be exhibited at the People’s History Museum on Saturday 7 March for International Women’s Day as part of an event titled ‘MCR women biking through – from suffrage to cycling equality’. The photographs will continue to be exhibited at various venues across Manchester over the following months including Pop Up Bikes cafe, Plattfields Boat House and the National Cycling Centre.

Transport for Greater Manchester are also hosting a campaign to help women get on their bikes across Greater Manchester. Throughout March TfGM will be hosting a number of events and activities that promote and celebrate women cycling. There is something for all ages and abilities; whether you’re a seasoned cyclist or a complete novice who doesn’t want to take the stabilisers off just yet. The range of events taking place include led rides, training courses, longer group rides, competitive circuit rides, exhibitions, social gatherings, discounts and competitions. There will also be a number of women-only cycle training sessions taking place, and a Girls Go Better By Cycling workshop on Tuesday 31 March at Friends Meeting House. The workshop will feature guest speakers (including UMBUG’s very own Kathy England) giving talks about developing women’s cycling in Greater Manchester.

Also as a part of International Women’s Day and Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign, Manchester City Council are offering 2 FREE mountain biking sessions on the National Cycling Centre pump track and skills area on Tuesday 10 and 17 March 1-3pm. Contact mtb@nationalcyclingcentre.com to register (registration in advance is required to avoid disappointment). No previous mountain biking experience needed – you just need to be able to ride a bike!

Beat The Bogle 6-7 March 2015

‘Raise and Give’ Students Charity Society Manchester is organising its annual BOGLE event on 6-7th March 2015, this year being the 54th edition! The Bogle Stroll is the longest challenge at 55 miles, but there is also the shorter Ramble at 26 miles and the Roll, a bike ride of 78 miles. The event is fun and challenging, being a great opportunity to explore the Greater Manchester urban area while taking part in an iconic and rewarding Mancunian event.
Bogle is so much better if lots of people take part so bring a team from your department to take part. You just need to register online and pay a booking fee, which covers costs and a deposit in case the funding target is missed. The fundraising target this year is £60, to go to the NSPCC, or a charity of your choice.
Hope to see you at Bogle with your team and a lot of energy! If you have any questions, please contact Ioana Negrila, Bogle Co-ordinator, at bogle@manchesterrag.com or 07871 562 355.

Cyclist volunteers required for Manchester Foodbank

Manchester Central Foodbank (http://manchestercentral.foodbank.org.uk) are looking for cyclists to help move food around the city to their distribution centre at the Chaplaincy on Oxford Road. They have some bikes and trailers for the purpose and are hoping to build a list of people to occasionally help out (they emphasise that it needn’t be a big or regular commitment). If you’re interested, please get in touch with them at bikes@manchestercentral.foodbank.org.uk and they’ll get back to you.

Projects for UMBUG in 2015

UMBUG held an open meeting on Tuesday 13th January to generate ideas for key projects in 2015 to support current and potential cyclists at the University.

It was an excellent brainstorming session and many suggestions were made on how UMBUG can:

promote the group and cycling at the University;
further investment for current (and future) cyclists;
help promote modal change (from cars to bikes).

UMBUG is always looking for willing volunteers to help make a difference. If you’d like to get involved, just send us an email.