Altrincham Duck

Get ready for Winter Wheelers: there’s never been a better time to try winter cycling.

 Love to Ride are inviting everyone in Greater Manchester to join the cycling boom and give winter riding a go in December with the Winter Wheelers event - a cycling advent calendar for grown-ups, with daily giveaways of high quality winter cycling gear. 

This year the coronavirus crisis has seen a huge surge in cycling, with a 300% increase across the UK during the first lockdown. Increasing cycling levels can help Greater Manchester build back better from the coronavirus crisis by protecting our NHS (people who ride regularly reduce their risk of heart disease and cancer by 45%), freeing up space on public transport for key workers who need it and reducing pollution and congestion. Plus cycling is great fun, saves money and improves physical and mental health. 

To take part in Winter Wheelers people only need to go for a short bike ride – ten minutes at lunchtime is enough – and log their ride on the Love to Ride website to go into that day’s prize draw. (1) 

There are some great prizes up for grabs: 

* Love to Ride has teamed up with three top cycling brands – Proviz, Loffi and Beryl – to offer three winter cycling ‘must-haves’: lights, gloves and hi-viz gear.   

* an early-bird registration prize of a £750 local bike shop voucher drawn from everyone who signs up before the end of November. 

* ten £100 local bike shop vouchers up for grabs - with one winner from each of the Greater Manchester council areas. 

* a Christmas Day prize draw for an E-bike, with the lucky winner receiving a text to let them know they have won a great Christmas present. Everyone who logs a bike ride between 1st and 24th December will be entered into the prize draw. (2) 

With these fantastic prizes on offer and so many benefits of riding a bike, there really has never been a better time to try riding in winter. Find out more and register in one minute at lovetoride.net     

For those who have not cycled in winter before, there Is lots of useful information on the Love to Ride website and there will be a Winter Wheelers webinar on 10^th December to share tips and advice (3)