Events
We’ve been organising cycle events for over 20 years. Here’s a selection.
Lap the Lough
www.lapthelough.org
The event where many people began their love affair with the bicycle. Started in 2006 with a field of 170 entries it has since grown to an event with 2500 entries. We shift the start and finish points around every so often but the route is always the same… all the way around the largest lake in Ireland and the UK, Lough Neagh. The event works with the local community, 100s of volunteers, local charities and local government each year.
The Fréd Festival
The Fréd Festival began in 2013 and caught the wave of enthusiasm generated by the Giro d’Italia’s visit to Belfast in 2014.
The Fréd is a co-designed cycle festival, between Cycul and anyone willing to come up with an idea, roll up their trouser leg, get stuck and help organise an event. It’s a mix of every day cycle events, talks and lectures, debates, cinema trips, movies, quizzes, roller racing, polo, BBQs and just about anything else you can do on a bike.
The Fréd Awards
2013–
There are lost of awards for sporting achievements but none for the people behind the scenes campaigning, organising and helping build a vibrant cycle culture. The Fréd Awards are our annual celebration of all that’s good about cycle culture – and a chance for the public to vote for whom they think deserves recognition.
The Ride on Belfast (#ROB)
Belfast’s biggest mass cycle commute started back in 2013 in collaboration with NI Greenways. A really simple idea to gather all the cycle commuters of Belfast together for an early morning cycle through Belfast to the City Hall for a free breakfast.
The event coaxes people out of their cars and shows them how simple, safe and stress-free it is cycling to work. This usually happens on the last Friday during Bike Week.
The Slow Bike Race
A collaboration between Cycul and Culture Night Belfast, the Slow Bike Race quickly established itself as the event that kicked off the night’s festivities. An old format redesigned and repackaged into a fun family spectator event. It’s essentially a race to the bottom - the last cyclist to cross the finish line wins. A test of balance, nerve and ability to cheat without being noticed by a few hundred spectators. It starts with Haribo and ends in tears and Champagne!
Boreen
Brexit has been continually scuppered by the border between North and South of Ireland. Not just the border but the warren of roads that disappear and pop up all along the border. The densest, most twisted network of roads in Europe. These are ancient roads just wide enough to walk a cow with a grass strip up the middle – known in Ireland as Boreens.
Boreen is a gravel style event celebrating these unique roads.
