OUR STORY

Three years ago I went to the councils bicycle festival. There was a show with a kid doing tricks and a few older guys showing people around a penny-farthing. Both things were good but there was nothing to actually do. Nothing to feel part of or to get involved with, not anything really to make you talk to other people. And definitely no bonding experiences that would create real friendships or community.

I was lucky; I worked in a job with bikes and was friends with some bike messengers and some of the people that worked in local bike shops in our city. I also go on critical mass and meet cyclists there. But so many other cyclists aren't that lucky and feel alienated and so don't have a support network or benefit from sharing cycling experiences and know-how.

So I decided to organise our own festival. I got some of my friends together that ride bikes too, from different areas of bicycle riding- some commuters, some messengers, some mechanics, some ladies-bike-pootle-arounders- and we talked about what it could involve.

It was exciting. We came up with great things to do that we really wanted to do. For example we'd heard about bike polo and thought it sounded fantastic, so I contacted some guys I found on the internet and convinced them to come and teach us all. They did and now we've had a team that
plays twice a week for over a year.

Anyway, more importantly than learning loads of new stuff and having an amazing time, is that we really are and have built a much stronger bike community in Manchester. Before, the messengers only really hung out with messengers and commuters with commuters but now we all sit round a table in the bar together and go on I Bike MCR rides on Sundays together. It's beautiful.

We all organise this festival because of a true passion for bikes and cycling and wanting to build a strong bike community in our city. We want a bike festival that helps to create and build that in a way that we, and anyone else that comes, can feel full ownership and able to fully participate and have a say in what happens, working together to create a beautiful month where it feels like there's so much going on and so many fun things to do that time stands still.