London Skyride 2011

Yesterday saw over 55,000 cyclists ride along 7.2 miles of motorised vehicle free London roads. It’s a fantastic event that allows cyclists to see some of London’s greatest sites free from potentially dangerous traffic.

Since the Skyride started in 2009 (then known as the London Freewheel) the numbers have never dipped below 50,000 cyclists taking part. With the 2010 turnout of 85,000 being the largest so far.

The turnout of only 55,000 in 2011 seems small in comparison to the 2010 turnout. Could this be down to the great british weather? A shower of rain did hit London yesterday. It’s too hard to tell what caused the drop in 30,000 cyclists which is the lowest turnout since 2008, so many factors could have affect it, from advertising to bad weather.

It is a shame that the numbers didn’t increase on last year, the popularity of the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme and the Barclays Superhighways has increased cycling in the capital a significant amount over the past few years and I think most of us where expecting more. 55,000 isn’t too be sniffed at, it is still a large number of cyclists taking advantage of the closed roads and enjoying the capital the way it should be.


4 thoughts on “London Skyride 2011

  1. Maybe it was to do with the weather but maybe also people travel from other areas in the country. We came from Kent. With the financial situation and the cost of train fares and petrol that could be a factor.

    1. You raise a good point on train fairs. But I think those factors would have affected last year as well, which saw record numbers.

      The only difference between this year and the past has been the weather 🙁

  2. It was an excellent day out! I originally planned to take my 3 eldest up but after meeting up with cousins on the Saturday and them mentioning it I got asked if I had room for 2 more people to come along! Luckily I could scrap together 2 more large bikes so I ended up with me + 5! In all honesty it helped quite a bit as them being older meant I could trust them on their own so they sped off ahead with my eldest while I kept an eye on the younger ones 🙂

    I suspect the weather was the main cause of the dip in numbers. It started out a bit overcast but warm then changed to rather heavy rain around 1.

  3. What a shame about the weather. We got drenched and whilst I’m quite used to that with my commute, it wasn’t so much fun for my partner who I am trying to convert into a fully fledged cyclist. Judging by her face, I have some way to go.

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