Join Cycletta, Britain’s first all-female national cycling event
Friday 1 July 2011
No one’s going to ride roughshod around the ladies of Vinghoe Velo’s cycling club who will be joining Olympic sportswoman and keen cyclist Gail Emms at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo today to launch Cycletta, sponsored by Sky Ride, Britain’s first all-female national cycling event.
© John O Reilly
The 40km route, through traffic-free roads around Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, will begin and end at the zoo, which is one of several charities to benefit from the event. Cyclists who take up one of the 50 free places for ZSL will be raising money for the charity’s Tiger SOS campaign.
Development Director of ZSL Jackie Tanner said the charity was delighted to be involved in such an innovative and worthwhile challenge.
“The funds raised by our participants will go to this vitally important Tiger SOS campaign to ensure the future survival of these beautiful and endangered animals,” she added.
Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton is a driving force behind Cycletta and has encouraged all ladies to take to the saddle and join in as a great way to keep fit and enjoy her favourite sport:
“Through Cycletta I want to inspire women to join me and cycle – as a hobby, a sport, a way to get fit and healthy or a way to escape. Whatever your reasoning, cycling can improve your life and Cycletta events will bring women of all abilities together to take on their own cycling challenge,” she said.
The event takes place on September 11th 2011 and the 40km course will wind its way through the beautiful countryside of the Aylesbury Vale.
Gail, who has recently given birth to her first son, encouraged ladies to sign up, saying: "Having been a former Olympic Athlete in a different sport, I can't encourage the joy and benefits of cycling enough especially for women who have recently given birth.”
Give tigers a tomorrow
Over the last decade the wild tiger population has been decimated, with a massive 95% drop in numbers.
Tiger SOS is a campaign to raise money for ZSL’s tiger conservation work in Sumatra as well as developing a state-of-the art Tiger Conservation Headquarters right in the heart of central London.
