WFOC Events pack

Event Pack 17 July -1 August 2021 cyclinguk.org/womensfestival #WFOC2021 #BeYouByBike

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Welcome to Cycling UK’s Women’s Festival of Cycling!

The Women’s Festival of Cycling takes place from 17 July to 1 August 2021 with a host of cycling events across the UK. We’ll be raising the profile of women’s cycling, putting on various events to encourage more women to cycle, and featuring the women in cycling who inspire others.

Join us and celebrate the fun, friendship and freedom that cycling provides.

By reminding women of the incredible benefits cycling can have, from tackling air pollution, physical health, improving mental wellbeing and ill health from inactivity, we want to make sure cycling becomes a sustained activity.

You can get involved by: • Holding a women’s only or female friendly event for friends, colleagues or at your local club.

• Take part in virtual events and rides near you.

• Share your cycling experiences on social media.

Will you help to make more women feel empowered by taking up cycling? #WFOC2021 Join in and enjoy the ride.

Women’s Festival of Cycling

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Get on your bike and join in the Women’s Festival of Cycling All over the UK there will be hundreds of organised cycle rides, virtual and face-to-face cycle training for all ages, maintenance workshops and many more great events for women to get involved in, most of which are free!

If you are organising an event or activity, make sure you register it with Cycling UK to take advantage of free insurance* and be part of our nationwide celebration of women in cycling. cyclinguk.org/womensfestival/register-event

Women’s Festival of Cycling

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As an organiser, by registering your event you will receive free: • Event registration page • Exciting promotional materials • Public Liability insurance *Terms apply, see website for more details.

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Awesome event ideas to get you inspired Put on a sightseeing ride with your friends or colleagues to explore your local area. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll discover.

Bikes and Bubbles: why not get a group of you to ride to a local pub or friends house where you can finish the ride with a glass of something fizzy?

Join your local Cycling UK group to meet new friends and have fun. Simply visit: cyclinguk.org/ local-groups to find your nearest.

Become a bike buddy and show a female colleague how easy it is for them to cycle to work.

Challenge yourself and friends to take part in a fundraising ride.

Don’t forget to register your event on the Cycling UK website for free insurance* and other great tips. cyclinguk.org/womensfestival/ register-event

Promote your event Social media is a great way to let people know about your event. Check out the Women’s Festival page on the Cycling UK website for images and logos you can use online and don’t forget to use the hashtags #WFOC2021 and #BeYouByBike.

You can also find poster templates to put up at your local shop, workplace, gym or community centre, plus useful tips on how to create a press release to send your story to local media and get some publicity. *Terms apply, see website for more details.

Women’s Festival of Cycling

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Promoting your event Here are some top tips to help make your event a huge success.

Most are free or low cost and won’t take too much time to do.

1 Register your event:

cyclinguk.org/womensfestival/register-event The simplest – and quickest – way to promote your event is to register your Women’s Festival of Cycling ride on the Cycling UK website. Registering will make you part of the biggest women’s cycling awareness-raising festival in the UK and you’ll gain free special event insurance cover for your event. It will also mean that your event will appear on the event listings on the website.

Make sure you include all your event details including the where, when and why’s and be sure to add your contact details in case people have questions.

2 Spread the word

Encourage friends, family and colleagues to join and spread the word about your event. Word of mouth can be extremely powerful. Tell everyone you meet, when, where and why your women’s event is happening – and obviously why cycling is so great!

Women’s Festival of Cycling

3 Event poster Included in your Women’s Festival of Cycling organisers pack is a customisable event poster. Choose which poster best suits your ride and fill in the all-important details; date, venue, time and who to contact. Think about the places you could post this. Your work place?

The local supermarket community board? The local sports leisure centre?

4 Social media

Communicating about your ride via social media is also another fantastic way of raising awareness of your event. Sharing your event regularly on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or all three can help maximise the number of people your event is visible to.

Utilise your Stories – Facebook and Instagram stories are a fun and interesting way to keep sharing your event and keep your audience engaged.

Everyone loves a hashtag – Don’t forget to use the hashtag #BeYouByBike and #WFOC2021 on all your posts. Using #BeYouByBike will enable you to connect with other amazing women participating in the Women’s Festival of Cycling around the UK.

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5 Create a Facebook Event

Use Facebook to create an event including the ride date, where you will meet and the time. Also, using the Cycling UK event banners will give your event good visibility. Other details you might want to include: how long you will ride for, what sort of pace, whether the ride will be on road or off-road and whether under 18’s are welcome.

6 Plan your route and share it

Use the Cycling UK Journey Planner to plan your route from start to finish. Other GPS route planning app’s such as Komoot, Strava and OS Maps (amongst others), allow you to plan your route and share the link with others.

7 Local press and radio

Send your pre-event press release to your local radio station and offer to do an interview about your event. You may be able to get local radio stations, newspapers, or even magazines and local guides to shout about your event.

8 Public figures

Know a female celeb, MP or dignitary? Invite them along to your ride and make sure to include them in any photography on the day, as well as your social media activity and post-event press release (with their permission of course!).

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Bicycle Face During the Victorian era ‘Bicycle Face’ and other scare tactics were deployed to detract women from using bikes. Especially as it gave women the freedom to travel and supported their campaigning for the right to vote.

Luckily, the benefits of the bicycle were soon recognised and the myth of bicycle face and other health scares were exposed.

However, the struggle for equality continues as men take three times as many bicycle trips as women.

As part of the festival this year, we are asking women to share photographs of their ‘real’ bicycle face, to demonstrate the fun and freedom it really brings. So wherever and however you ride as part of the festival, we want to see your bicycle face photos and videos.

Share your #bicycleface, tag Cycling UK and help spread the message:

During the Women’s Festival of Cycling, we’ll be encouraging all women to head out for a ride, share their adventures and #bicycleface using the hashtag #BeYouByBike.

twitter.com/wearecyclinguk

Our aim is to get more women cycling across the UK and share their positive stories online about how thrilling riding a bike can be.

instagram.com/wearecyclinguk

facebook.com/cyclinguk

strava.com/clubs/cyclinguk

Join the conversation #bicycleface #BeYouByBike #WFOC2021

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Resources for your event Whether you’re a regular cyclist, new to cycling or returning after an absence, Cycling UK can help you.

There are lots of fun ways to get involved in this years festival, visit the website to find out what’s on: cyclinguk.org/womensfestival Check out our advice for women who want to cycle more: cyclinguk.org/womensfestival/advice Our County Guides provide a wealth of information, with routes, events, clubs and advice for cycling in your local area: cyclinguk.org/ride/county-and-area-cycling-guides Why not plan your route using our Journey Planner: cyclinguk.org/journey-planner Join us. Our membership is from as little as £4 a month, so whether you’re new to cycling, ride regularly or want to get back into it, Cycling UK caters for you. Or as a special offer we are giving you the chance to access membership for 6 months at £15: cyclinguk.org/join-womens-festival-2021

Women’s Festival of Cycling

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Cycling UK | Parklands | Railton Road | Guildford | Surrey | GU2 9JX Cyclists’ Touring Club (CTC) a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no: 25185 Registered as a charity in England and Wales charity no: 1147607 and in Scotland charity no: sco42541

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