Cov route for naked bike ride is announced
COVENTRY’S naked bike ride returns this month and the route it will take has now been unveiled.
The event is a protest which aims to draw attention to the vulnerability of cyclists on the road and calls for action on climate change.
The cyclists will ride around eight miles of the city on Saturday, May 28. This year’s event follows on from an inaugural ride held last year.
The plan had been to start and finish at Hearsall Common. However, the start and finish point has had to be changed due to the BBC using Hearsall Common as its production base for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend which is taking place at the same time.
Joe Swanton-fallowell organised the ride last year and said at the time, the purpose was to raise awareness of environmental issues and cycle safety. He also urged people to consider using other forms of transport.
Announcing the route for this year’s event he said: “We’ve had to move the start location from Hearsall Common, as the BBC are using it as their production base for the Big Weekend. Fortunately, we’ve not had to go too far away, and the new start location will be the Criterion Theatre.
“From there, we head down Albany
Road to Butts Road, entering the city centre by the old Ikea. We will head clockwise around the city centre, doing a full loop, then a bit further to the Belgrade.
“We then head out along Radford Road as far as Engleton Road, heading back to Earlsdon along Moseley Avenue and Four Pounds Avenue, ultimately returning to the Criterion.”
Last year was the first naked ride the city had seen and was one of just 15 in the UK. Speaking previously about the purpose of the event Joe said: “We’ve had quite a large number of accidents in recent times where cyclists have been hit by cars and we want people to be a bit more considerate of cyclists. Is [your] journey in a car worth it? Could you walk or take the bus?
“The world seems to be very focused on cars, particularly in Coventry, and I think that is something that needs to change. There are signs that things are starting to improve as the council are putting in bike lanes, but there’s still a long way to go.”
Participants chose whether to cycle naked, part-clothed or fully-clothed tying in with the campaign’s ‘As Bare As You Dare’ slogan. “The naked protest is designed to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists,” added Joe. “To show they deserve more respect on the roads and to make other road users more aware of cyclists. It’s really up to the rider.”
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