Report from GMCC’s Manchester SkyRide stall
Report from the GMCC stall at Manchester’s 2014 SkyRide by Aless, a transport planner and GMCC member.
Back in June during one of the monthly GMCC meetings I volunteered to be part of the team that would represent GMCC at the annual Skyride event in Manchester. So early in the morning of Sunday 3rd of August I cycled to Albert Square along with a trailer loaded with promotional material.
While setting up the GMCC and Space for Cycling banners at our stall the crowds started gathering and just before the official start was announced at 10am Albert Square was filled by people of all ages along with their bikes and sporting the fluorescent bibs provided by the organiser of the ride.
#Manchester #skyride Top Tip: If you want to spot your friends or children, wear any colour other than neon yellow! pic.twitter.com/89mLb0oIlO
— GM Cycling Campaign (@GMcycling) August 3, 2014
The weather held off for most of the day resulting in a party atmosphere, helped by the sounds of the calypso orchestra opposite us which provided the soundtrack for the day. The very few brief showers did not manage to dampen the spirits of the crowd.
Busy times at the GMCC stall
Throughout the day I was joined by members and friends of GMCC who provided invaluable help in promoting GMCC to people visiting our stall. Local media have reported more than 15,000 people taking part in the event. Not surprisingly, lots of these people visited our stand over the duration of the event and hopefully the majority left our stall with a better understanding of GMCC and its aims. By the end of the day most of our promotional material had almost run out and we have received very encouraging comments. Hopefully there will be some new members joining us to assist with our current and future campaigns.
Campaigning for each other’s futures
Events like these are a great opportunity for the campaign to interact and engage with people due to the numbers they manage to attract. Meeting so many fellow cyclists and seeing some familiar faces made it a most enjoyable day for me. Hopefully I‘ll get to do that again next year.
Hi @CoffeeCranks! (whilst on tour with a #space4cycling flag)
Finally, a big thank you to all the people who helped at the stall: Alix O, Ian T, Jean, Jonathan F, Jonathan K, Lizzie & William C – and a special thanks to Pavol Gajdos of Manchester Bike Hire for kindly allowing us to use one of his trailers for the day.
“Just visiting” at the BMX track – perhaps we’ll be able to do a lap next year!
