Kayleigh Poacher of BBC Radio Norfolk reports from the Norwich Glow Ride, 22nd October 2025 as people assembled outside City Hall.
Images Derek, Norwich Cycling Campaign.
Ed Smith. A special cycling event lit up the night in Norwich last night. Plenty of people went along to bike around the city to highlight the need for safer routes. Well, earlier this year, charity Cycling UK revealed that 7 years of progress for cyclists had reduced the barriers for men while little to nothing changed for women. Their campaign, My Ride, My Right, is calling for more investment in cycling and walking routes that consider the experiences of women, particularly while out at night. Well, we sent along Kaye Poacher last night on her bike in the city, to find out more. It’s a normal evening in our city center, but definitely nothing normal about tonight because around me, I can see loads and loads of bikes with flashing lights. There are fitnesses. Incredible. My name is Peter Silburn and I’m the chair of the Norwich cycling campaign. So Peter, you’re behind this event tonight. Why did you decide to put this on? It’s actually Cycling UK, which is the national cycle campaign that’s kind of asked people to organize it. So we’re kind of the local hosts. Uh that it’s basically about women’s safety. Study after study tells us that uh the majority of women cycling in in this country don’t feel safe. And it’s not just about lack of infrastructure. It’s the the type of infrastructure, the design of it. It’s really not designed for women. Infrastructure is is designed by men for men. Uh and we really need to be listening to women’s voices about that. Paths that are too narrow, dark corners, blind corners, lack of lighting, uh you know, routes that maybe go across an industrial estate or through a park. Now, go through parks quite a good example. I mean, in the daytime, a nice cycle route through a park is a lovely thing, but at night time, it becomes different. And maybe men sort of look at that and think that’s okay. But for women it’s a totally different experience. Uh and we need to be listening to women and women really need to be involved in the entire process design of infrastructure, commissioning of infrastructure. Uh so that you know women feel safe and if women feel safe, everyone feels safe. My name’s Kitty and I’m part of the Norwich cycling campaign. I mean the glow sticks are out, the flashing headband is out. But I mean so many people have turned up for this, haven’t they? It’s brilliant. Oh, it’s fantastic. And it it was even before the kind of official gathering start time at 6:30, people were starting to come together. So that’s fantastic. What needs to be done? Do you think we’re getting any better at this? If you look at the figures, like nine out of 10 women apparently are fearful of cycling in urban areas, especially at night. And I mean that is something that has I mean it’s definitely increased over the decades. So I think that’s a massive indicator that we are not because at the end of the day it’s not about women getting braver. It’s that the environment needs to change. That means the cycling infrastructure, driver behavior, the how the cycling culture, like how it’s represented. So that’s to do with the media, but it’s also to do, I would say, with like the count at the county council level. What would you like to see change? I mean, if they if they could I mean, no money is always a constraint and they’ll probably say we can only do what we’ve got with the funding, but if money was no object and we could wave magic wands and and make this actually how we want it here in Norfolk, what needs to happen? So we definitely need like segregated cycle ways. Um a better lighting. Um there needs to be a whole cultural shift like I say. So looking at how cycling and cyclists are portrayed in the media. But there also needs to be a specific kind of audit for women because women for example move around differently and they experience life differently at the end of the day. So there needs to be a way of looking at the infrastructure in Norwich and kind of auditing it from a women’s perspective. I’m Leah Spagatner, a cycle advocate and a female that lives in Norwich. Um, and I’m just so excited to see so many faces come together and so many bicycles and faces, should I say, come together. I feel like I feel like I need your help. I feel like we should go around and judge some of the cycles. So um, I think we should. Yeah. So well, we’ve got two here. First of all, hello. Good evening. We’re going to judge your bicycles. Um, so what what do you reckon to these ones here? I love that. I love that we’re getting the kind of festive season already going with some tinsel. Um, and we’ve got the little glow sticks as well, which are just fantastic. And I love how bike lights already just have that that rave element, I should say. It’s very ravy. Big question though. Have you got bells? Put these lights on. I’ve been making them different colors with um old sweet wrappers. I’m the sort of person who saves things like this for years. I love it. Re It’s like reuse. So, it’s sustainable and also looks brilliant. I mean, I was already drawn over here because I mean, you can’t you can’t miss these ones, can you? Not at all. I love the flower aspect. I love the the little fairy lights that are circling around and I love how a bicycle frame is a perfect tool for for all of this to kind of happen. You can I cycled here today with fairy lights over my bike and I just thought, why aren’t we doing this all the time? So, where did the fairy lights come from? Do they have a home? Normally they were bought specially for the occasion, but it makes me think likewise I should have lights on my bike all the time because it just looks so pretty. And and what’s your name? Amanda. So I mean you you’ve gone the full like Christmas lights on this. Um what what setting are we going to go with with the ride, do you think? Well, apparently there’s nine settings and it’s going to cycle through all nine. You won’t know what’s going on. I love it. And then I mean you’ve both decorated brilliantly as well. I love the fact you’re wearing the fairy lights. I’m wearing my Halloween lights. Yes. Cuz I thought, well, you know, it’s Halloween month now, isn’t it? So, why not go the whole hog and I wrapped them around me. And I mean, I mean, for all of you, because of course, this is all about sort of promoting cycling safely. Do do you cycle normally around Norwich in Northolk? Yes. And and I mean, how safe do you feel? Um, in the city, not so safe. But out in the county when we’re cycling around, it’s it’s it’s a nice place to cycle and there’s great atmosphere to see and great views. But maybe we could be a little bit more like Holland and definitely have safe cycle routes where the cyclists take precedent over the car drivers. We are avid cyclists. So we cycle in in Europe all the time and here cyclists are are so secondass and we just need to be safe. More children could be on their bikes if we had good cycle paths that were respected. Cars didn’t park on cycle paths and actually cars didn’t beep you if you were going slow with children. So, I’d urge drivers to just be a bit more patient with us cyclists. I think it’s really nice that seeing all these bicycles with fairy lights and everything and and kind of having this occasion to light up, I think it also recognizes how much we need to be seen. Yes. And I think that’s I think the this is just a really a really exciting way to emphasize that. If you don’t want to talk to, can you just describe currently what you’re wearing to me? Um, something really weird. I’ve got two pairs of glasses on, one of which glows and the others don’t. Um, and I’ve got some bunny ears on that also glow up. I mean, the glow is quite cool though, isn’t it? I mean, it feels like a bike ride but also a rave at the same time. It absolutely does. Yeah, it’s brilliant. I can’t believe how many people there are here. That was quite a shock when we came around the corner. That was incredible. So, are you excited cuz we’re going to set off any minute, aren’t we? So, are are you looking forward to this? Oh, so looking forward to it. Yeah, really, really excited. And everybody looks like they’re really getting into it, so it’s good. That’s great, isn’t it? All those bells as well. What a great community. Kayie Poacher at the Glow Ride in Norwich last night.
1 Comment
fantastic!