TREA’s London Bicycle Festival
TREA started a community Bike Week in 1991 at Victoria Park’s bandshell building on it with a corporate commuter challenge for several years and renaming it TREA’s Bicycle Festival Week. A multitude of community partners and supporters came on board during the first week of June and sometimes even longer into other weeks of June. The commuter challenge was of particular interest drawing novice to seasoned cyclists to enjoy cycling and win fabulous prizes. TREA also gave special attention to Clean Air Day with a special event to remind citizens of the importance of clean air. The week long Festival moved from Victoria Park to Covent Garden Market for a number of years. Western University organized a satellite location for the commuter challenge and cyclists to meet up and have a snack. With new volunteers always coming on board, the Festival experienced change and innovation. In 2014, the Festival moved to become a one day event and was organized in different locations yearly throughout the City for a few years. Some of these events were constrained by weather but the enthusiasm was strong. The Festival also made collaborative efforts to represent itself as a Waste Free event.
After 30 years of planning, this initiative has run its course and a city initiative for the month of June called London Celebrates Cycling has evolved.
Please see the links to past events below that TREA organized to celebrate cycling through events, bike rides, education, bike maintenance and people gathering together and celebrating cycling.
TREA also spearheaded London’s first walking/biking map and then donated the map to the City for continued distribution.
Current Bike Map for London
https://london.ca/sites/default/files/2020-09/BikeMap12x18_Compressed.pdf
TREA continues to support cycling by engaging with CAN-Bike London and its cycling safety training programs offered in community and at schools and with Big Bike Giveaway to provide helmet fittings on special Bike Giveaway days.
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