On Sunday 22 September 2019 beginning at 4.00pm there will be a cycling demonstration outside The Scottish Parliament.

This is World Car Free Day and women from all over Scotland will be pedalling for change through Edinburgh. The dress code is fierce and fabulous!

The Fancy Women Bike Ride is a short ride increasing the visibility of women in cities and highlighting the need for better cycling conditions for everyone. Women are encouraged to dress fancy and recapture the joy of cycling.

Join the ride (men are also welcome) outside The Scottish Parliament and then ride through part of Holyrood Park, up Cowgate and into the Meadows returning to Holyrood by way of the Meadows-Innocent Link. There is a party at the Bike Station afterwards when the Women’s Cycle Forum Scotland will also hold their AGM.

Suzanne Forup is one of the organisers of the Edinburgh ride along with Sally Hinchcliffe, and they also co-founded the Women’s Cycle Forum Scotland.

Suzanne, who is also Head of Development Scotland for Cycling UK said “This isn’t a bike ride so much as a reclaiming of the streets – it’s about women making themselves visible in an outfit that doesn’t make cycling look like an urban battle. It’s a powerful way to rethink our streets so that they’re fit for everyone, however they choose to dress.”

Sally Hinchcliffe, who also helps to organise Pedal on Parliament, said, “There’s not much that will get me to wear a dress but when I heard about the Fancy Women Bike Ride I knew I had to get involved. I’ve been a cycle campaigner for a long time, and it can be a hard road to pedal – but this is a joyful and fabulous way to make the case for humanising our towns and cities. We can’t wait to join women from all around the world on Sunday’s ride.”

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.