For Staff

British Cycling and HSBC UK will be returning to the city in September following the success of last year’s free, family event.

HSBC UK Let’s Ride Leeds 2018 (formerly Sky Ride and City Ride) will take place on Sunday 2 September, when six kilometres of city centre roads – including a section of the University campus – will be closed to motor traffic to give thousands of people the perfect opportunity to explore their city on two wheels.

And now there’s an extra incentive for University staff to take part, as they will also receive a free family experience at Leeds’ Bodington Cycle Circuit when they sign up.

Bodington Cycle Circuit is a one-mile closed loop cycle circuit in North Leeds, providing a safe, traffic-free environment for the whole family to enjoy.

To qualify for this special offer, staff need to visit the University’s Sport & Physical Activity website to complete the family experience booking form after registering for Let’s Ride 2018.

One of the cycle circuit team will then get in contact to book in a date for you and your family to enjoy the cycle circuit for free at one of the usual ‘Pay and Pedal’ cycle sessions.

And don’t worry if you need to borrow bikes or helmets, as they can be supplied.

This year’s HSBC UK Let’s Ride Leeds will have a strong community focus, linking up with local attractions, including the First Direct Arena. There will be a range of local community groups, bike shops, performers and giveaways along the route, with participants encouraged to hop off their bikes and find out more.

Confirmed attractions include:

• HSBC UK Let’s Ride Spin to Win – represent your city and try and top the national leaderboard
• one-to-one coaching from British Cycling
• the chance to pedal through time in the virtual reality cycling experience
• getting your bib personalised on the day
• testing your top speed against Sir Chris Hoy’s at the Sprint Zone; and
• the Extreme Mountain Bike Show, led by Multiple British and European Mountain Bike Trials Champion, Danny Butler.

The University’s Head of Sport, Suzanne Glavin, said: “This is a great opportunity for us all to experience this wonderful city traffic-free and get out there with family and friends and enjoy being active in the fresh air.

“There are some wonderful stop-offs on the way, with refreshments stalls and entertainment, so it will be a fun day out for all. And if the ride inspires you to be more active, more regularly, we have some exciting opportunities for you to try out our closed cycle circuit up at Bodington and/or our spin classes at The Edge.”

The event – part of a series being held across the country – seeks to inspire people to get on their bikes to combat some of the societal issues that blight Leeds and other major cities. Leeds is currently undertaking a range of work to tackle and improve air quality in the city. See the City Council website for further information.

The section of the route through the University campus (above) will remain unchanged from last year, with associated road closure warnings issued to staff and students.

There will be no access to campus between 8am and 4pm from University Road, the main entrance or Willow Terrace. 

There will be no parking along the route – University Road, Cavendish Road, Hillary Place, Vernon Road and Willow Terrace – during the same period and no access to the multi-storey or Edge car parks.

Staff are also reminded not to leave their vehicles in these areas overnight as they may be unable to move them on Sunday morning until the end of the event.

Campus access will be available via Mount Preston Street but parking will be severely limited.

Volunteers are also being sought in a number of key roles for HSBC UK Let’s Ride Leeds 2018. See the volunteering section of British Cycling website for further information.