Tweed Run 2010
April 16, 2010
On 10th April, 400 cyclists wearing tweed and riding vintage bikes went on a 12 mile cycle through London. The route passed Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens for afternoon tea (accompanied by a three-piece string orchestra), Saville Row, and ending up at The Bathhouse in Bishopsgate for a party that included entertainment by Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer, Top Shelf Jazz, DJ Tom Kerwin and a team of swing dancers.
This is the second year that the Tweed Run has taken place, and it has spawned copycat rides around the world. The 400 tickets for the event were all taken within an hour of the registration opening, and it has captured the imagination of many cyclists from around the world.
The ride supports the Bikes4Africa charity, where bikes are given (on a long-term loan basis) to students in Africa who have great distances to walk to school. Many African children live in remote communities a long way from schools. There is no bus system, so these students have to travel extremely long distances to receive an education. Bikes4Africa helps the students to:
• get to school
• arrive at school on time instead of late
• begin the school day alert instead of exhausted
• stay for extra lessons at the end of the school day
• reach higher academic achievement
• arrive home earlier
• help their families more at home
• remain safe by travelling home from school in daylight
Education, skills training and community support are one of the only ways to lift communities out of poverty and help them along the way to self-sustainability. To date, Bikes4Africa has sent over 5500 bikes to Africa.