Julia led the conversation about active travel at Mums for Lungs‘ climate picnic at the new childen’s play area in Wanstead Park on 25 June 2023 as part of the WREN conservation group‘s wildlife weekend.

On one of the warmest afternoons of the summer so far, a small group gathered to exchange views and advice on active travel in London.

The group mirrored those who join our rides, ranging from experienced cyclists to people wanting to get back into cycling after a long break. Concerns raised were those we hear over and over – the need to find quiet routes, negotiate tricky junctions and cope with the small number of aggessive motorists.

We hope the participants gained confidence to cycle more, knowing they are not alone. We are especially keen to see you on a marshalled ride. Over the year, we have rides for cyclists of all abilities. Details are posted about a month in advance on our rides page.

At Redbridge Cycling Campaign, we have been busy campaigning for better cycling infrastructure in the borough.

For the first time, we raised a freedom of information request to get to the bottom of why Redbridge Council installed speed cushions in St Marys Road, Wanstead, rather than humps. Find out what we discovered here.

Also in our campaigns update, the latest on the Aldersbrook Road cycle lanes and the Ilford to Barking Cycleway, now under construction.

We have now been given sight of two proposed quiet routes between Gants Hill and Ilford and Barkingside. It looks like both schemes will feature speed humps and tables with sinusoidal profiles. 

This is welcome progress. 

The climax of our May rides was the Ride London Freecycle, when 108 cyclists came with us to central London to enjoy traffic-free streets for the day. There’s a short report on our rides page.

The season surges ahead with three events planned for June. The Wanstead Park to Richmond ride on 10 June is already fully booked. There is a waiting list in case of cancellations. To join send us a message and we’ll let you know if a place becomes available.

There are still places available for our ride to the Tour de Waltham Forest on Sunday 11 June and to come on our June family ride from Wanstead Park to Fairlop Waters on Sunday 18 June. For details and booking links, go to the rides page.

We hope to see you on a ride soon!