Time to pump up your tyres...I Bike MCR Festival starts next week!!! And there's something for everyone...bike film night, midnight ride to Formby, Ladies ride, bicycle treasure hunt, Fixie Comp, Bicycle Polo....It doesn't matter whether you pootle around on a shopper or ride a carbon fixie there'll be something for you to take part in!
The I Bike MCR Festival is grassroots- organised voluntarily by cyclists for cyclists... ace.
If you wish to take part in any of these events please register your interest by emailing us
Friday 28th March
Festival Opening Party (everyone invited!!!):
6pm Central Library Critical Mass Bike Ride
8pm - 3am Cafe Saki (opp EBC, Wilmslow Road)
Bands: 7 Hertz("folk, jazz, free improv, punk and just plain odd")
Al Baker("Radical folk singer extroadinaire")
Egészségedre (Amazing Gypsy Ska band from Leicester)
DJ's from Pick Your Own and Longshot
AND
PICK YOUR OWN
Bring your favourite record and the Pick your own Djs will play it.
PLUS... Bicycle visuals, bike games, slow race.
Saturday 29th March
3pm Urbis Gardens: Bicycle Treasure Hunt
Bicycle Treasure Hunt- a list of tasks with an assigned number of points for each one. How many points can you get in 3 hours? Bring digital camera/camera phone, bag, pen, map of Manchester, paper, oh and a bike.
It doesn't matter how fast you are or whether you're riding a shopper or a carbon fixie...points are won with cleverness and creativity...plus theres lots of winners inc. the child with most points, most points for person in best fancy dress etc etc
EXAMPLE OF POINTS SYSTEM:
20 points: whoever can get back dressed as a pirate
10 points: visit checkpoint at All Saints park
Sunday 30th March
Bicycle Welding Workshop
Email for venue details (it's one of our houses so we don't wanna give out the address on website!)
All day to build bikes for the Bicycle Art Parade
Wednesday 2nd April
Bicycle Film Night
7pm at The Dancehouse Theatre Featuring Klunkerz, Kiss Bike Kiss, I Bike MCR Film, NYC Videozine, Bike Theif . Tickets at Piccadilly Gardens Telephone 0161 237 9753.
Movie Magazine International: "Savage is the craftsman who weaves this all together with one part pride, he’s a Marin local after all, two parts awe, and three parts love. KLUNKERZ is a thrill ride and a throwback to a simpler time when bored youth went outside and invented fun. Still, one thing remains the same, a good day can still be measured by how much mud you have in your teeth." USA Today raves: "Savage's funny and often poignant film looks at how a bunch of semi-stones hippies in Northern California developed a unique style of off-road bike riding through collaboration and competition. The free-floating and (sometimes) selfless sharing of technology quickly led to a full-blown industry and Olympic status as a sport in 1996."
Friday 4th April
Midnight Ride to Formby
Sunrise swim. Meet at The Sandbar at Midnight to ride. Bring good lights, food, towel, swimming stuff, warm clothes, bike etc.
It's about 40 miles and as its a night ride we'll take to the road which we should have more or less to ourselves. A few stop offs for some light refreshment is likely. Click here for the route we'll take.
An adventure by moonlight. We’ll ride thorugh mostly traffic free country lanes, settling into groups to ride with people going at a similar pace. Stopping off now and again for a swig of something to warm us up. Flying through little villages, past dark fields, under a blanket of stars and a black sky dotted with bats…we’ll feel tired and wonder why we’re not in our beds at times and we’ll never get that nights sleep back. But it’ll be worth it. And as we ride into the sunrise and towards the shore of Formby where our cheerleaders, the red squirrels, will meet us..we’ll be glad we did it….even if it rains the whole way!!!
Saturday 5th April
Bicycle Polo class
1pm Platt Fields Park
The MCR Dropouts bicycle polo team will teach you how to play the sport and help you get a team together for the tournament.
Sunday 6th April
1pm The Pankhurst Centre
Ladies Day
Clitical Mass Ladies Bike ride to Reclaim the roads and feel confident by riding together (and to socialise!)...with a talk about the history of cycling and women and a ladies only bike maintenance class.
Friday 11th April
Hell Of the North West III
A fast ride around our city. Get to the checkpoints get back.
Alley Kitten Race- As above but on kids bikes or shoppers!
To participate in this event please register ASAP by emailing
cantgoslo@gmail.com
Followed by party at The Sandbar, everyone welcome (whether participating in the alley cat/kitten or not). With DJs and a chance to hang out/ socialise with MCR bike community.
Saturday 12th April
2pm Bicycle Art Parade
Meet at Cathedral Gardens next to Victoria station on Saturday 12th April at 2pm for a nice picnic in the park and to admire each others fancily decorated steeds and riders (bring some nice picnic food and drink)..also if you don't get chance to bling your bike before you come, there will be opportunity and materials to do it there...
Also there as part of the Autonomous Spaces Event will be Folk bands, a soundsystem, magic tricks, street theatre and art session!
then we shall ride around the city showing off how great our blinged-up bikes look..
Sunday 13th April
Beer Ride
Meet at Noon at Cathedral Gardens, next to Victoria train station
for a ride into the peaks with a few stops at some nice country pubs.
We won't be cycling uber fast but it is quite a distance (obviously people can drop off whenever they like). We will give everyone points to cycle to together and so the faster ones get to the pubs first and wait for the others (which might slow them down on the next leg!)
Be prepared to ride about 30-40 miles at a steady pace.We hope to be back in MCR by the evening.
Saturday 19th April
2pm outside The Sandbar: Yo Fixie III
An event for fixed gear riders. With comps inc: Track Stand, Track Skid, Sprint and more.
To participate in this event please register ASAP by emailing
cantgoslo@gmail.com
The Sandbar have very kindly agreed to putting on an amazing "street party" type thing at the back of the bar, with a dj and outdoor bar, during the Yo Fixie event so even if you haven't got a fixed wheel bike you can come down and watch the others and socialise with other bike lovers.
Sunday 20th April
Bicycle Polo Tournament
1pm Platt Fields Park
Teams from around the UK compete to win the I Bike MCR Polo Tournament
with a game of bicycle tag at half time that's open to everyone to join in...so whether you're a polo player or not come down with your bike and have a go..
ace prize to be won!!
If you want to play with your team REGISTER ASAP at info@ibikemcr.org.uk
If you want to start your own team to play in the tournament but want some tips come to practise on Saturday 5th April, Bicycle Polo class, 1pm Platt Fields Park
Friday 25th April
Critical Mass Bike ride
6pm Central Library
Followed by End of I Bike MCR Festival Party
(everyone invited!!!):
8pm - 4am Venue TBC
With...
Bands: Cash for Your Stories, The Autonomads, The Kirkz and Hail Brethren
DJ's from Pick Your Own and Longshot
AND the Rollapaluza guys roll up to put on a Roller Race!!!
Roller Race- The final heats will be amazing short races after competitors have set their qualifying times. "It’s a drama – the gritting of teeth and twisting of faces, as riders give everything in those 20-something seconds of each race. Only opera could portray the intensity and drama." (Therese Bjorn, www.londonmessengers.org)
We are starting to take registration now, so if you want to participate in any of the events please get in touch..or if you want to help out at them.
We are trying to make all of the events free of charge, to make them as accessible as possible, by applying for funding to cover costs and by asking people to sponsor thjavascript:edInsertTag(edCanvas[0], 4);
/linke prizes yet a small charge to cover costs may be applied if funding doesn't come through.
More events to be posted soon!
If you'd like to put on an event or workshop please contact us
Get in the loop
Sign up to the email list
Volunteer
Be a steward on the Hell Of the North West Alleycat race/ Alleykitten. We need 5 to stand at different points in the city and sign off the racers as they get to the point. You will only be required to stay there for an hour at absolute maximum.
Organise an event of your own and let us know what it is so we can support you and help publicise it.
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I Bike MCR Festival from Friday 28th March to Friday 25th April 2008 Email: info@ibikemcr.org.uk
Web:
