Tour of Berkshire 2013

Cycling is once again in the spotlight with high hopes of a second British winner in the Tour de France, but in Berkshire the authorities were laying on a tour of their very own.

As with many parts of the country, the royal county has seen cycling numbers rising over recent years and with it an increase in casualty numbers.  To raise awareness of this important issue road safety professionals, police officers, cycle trainers and volunteers all joined forces to take the Tour of Berkshire right round the county Berkshire.

Covering 156 miles in 3 days, the team stopped off in the 6 major towns running events to promote cycling and cycle safety. Organised by Safer Roads, under the banner of their Urban Limits campaign, a core team of a dozen cyclists completed the full route being joined along the way by groups of leisure riders just keen to be a part of it. The team also published and distributed a new infographic on health benefits of cycling (http://www.urbanlimits.org/cyclofacts/) as they went.

Despite the soaring temperatures, all participants made it round safely, having been joined in various places by local and regional media. BBC journalist Ben Moore even managed to join in for an on road training session with West Berkshire’s cycling coordinator Caroline Lane (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-23264821).

Commenting on the reasons for launching the tour, Dan Campsall said: “Many of us face a great challenge to embrace and promote sustainable modes such as walking and cycling, with all the health and well-being benefits that they offer, without accepting a rise in casualties. Distributing information on training, road position, route selection and visibility as we went The Tour brought together a range of professionals with a shared ambition; to get people on their bikes, safely.”

The tour diaries provide a great summary of the places we visited and people we met: