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Cycle Hire to get grand unveiling
The face of central London will be changing for the better when Transport for London launches its Cycle Hire scheme next summer. In line with the Mayor of London’s vision, this will provide a genuinely sustainable and inexpensive alternative to the car and will encourage more Londoners to cycle.

The scheme will allow someone to pick up a cycle from a docking point at a cycle docking station, use it as desired and then return it for the next person to use at either the same or another docking station. It is intended that the cycles are used for short journeys only and so each one can be used by many people each day.

The scheme will be unveiled at this year’s Cycle Show which will take place at Earls Court from on 8 to 11 October 2009. Visitors will be able to test the Cycle Hire bicycles on a trial track at the TfL stand.

Visitors to the Cycle Show will also be able to learn more about the Cycle Superhighways, which will launch in May 2010 and TfL’s Catch up with the bicycle campaign.

For more information about the Cycle Hire scheme, visit www.tfl.gov.uk/cycling

London Cycling Revolution
New figures show a bicycle boom is underway with an estimated 545,000 daily bicycle journeys now made in London, up nine per cent in the year since the Mayor of London was elected. Speaking at the launch of the Cycling revolution, the Mayor said he was determined to reach beyond dedicated commuter cyclists and encourage more Londoners to join in.

The Mayor, Boris Johnson, unveiled a major new marketing campaign 'Catch up with the bicycle', which shows the freedom of cycling and how, as in other European countries, cycling can be a stylish and desirable way to travel.

Cycling Events
The Mayor of London also set out plans for an action-packed summer of cycling, designed to boost the numbers of people travelling by bike and pave the way for London's cycling revolution.

Thanks to The Tour of Britain, world-class racing is returning to the street of London on 19 September 2009 for the final stage of the race, offering for the most exciting, action packed free-to-attend spectacle.

The popular Skyride event, which attracted 50,000 people last year to cycle past London's iconic sites along a car-free route, will also be returning bigger and better on 20 September 2009.

Photo: Michelle Rudd