A cycling festival is making a welcome return to Swansea and Gower after a five-year hiatus, organisers have confirmed. The annual 'Gower Cycling Festival' ran for nine years from 2010 and 2018 and showed-off beautiful Gower as a top destination for cyclists, while it also helped to promote cycling as an enjoyable leisure activity for all.
Swansea CTC (Cyclists Touring Club), a member of Cycling UK, has now taken the reins for the festival and is in the process of planning its return. The now-renamed 'Swansea & Gower Cycling Festival' is set to run for five days over the August Bank Holiday weekend, from Thursday, August 24 to Monday, August 28, with 13 rides suited to a wide range of cycling abilities.
Several routes will take cyclists through the city and county of Swansea, whilst four rides will take cyclists through "wonderful Gower scenery". Further routes will take cyclists into Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot and Powys. There will also be three leisure rides, stretching between 10 and 27 miles, on flat routes along the coast and river Tawe, suitable for new riders and families with children.
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A spokesperson for Cycling UK explained: "Our rides programme takes advantage of the stunning coastal scenery of Swansea and Gower, as well the exceptional cycle paths and quieter roads that wind their way through the beautiful, hilly terrain further inland.
"All leisure rides will take place mostly on dedicated traffic-free cycle or shared-use paths, and although some of the other routes will, for certain sections, traverse busier roads, the vast majority of the routes will be on quiet, country lanes."
"None of the rides in the programme are races," the spokesperson added. "They are social rides, and will feature regular stops to re-group at junctions and the top of climbs, breaks for coffee, and, for longer rides, a lunch stop.
"Each ride will have a specified ride leader, a back marker and at least one other support rider. As with CTC Swansea’s regular club rides, we adopt a ‘no drop’ policy, meaning no rider gets left behind.
"Cycling is recognised as benefiting not only our physical health, but also our mental health. Being on a bike gives you time to think, enjoy nature, and the spectacular views. We have an enthusiastic and dedicated team of volunteers ready to welcome you to Swansea and Gower, and share with you their knowledge and experience of our wonderful cycling routes."
Swansea & Gower Cycling Festival is free to members of Swansea CTC and to children and young people under 18 (please note, children under 16 need to have an adult 18+ with them). For members of the public, individual rides cost £3 if booked in advance or £5 on the day. Alternatively, a Festival Pass costs £10 and entitles the pass-holder to take part in as many rides as they wish.
For more information about the Swansea and Gower Cycling Festival, and to book a ride, visit the festival's website here.
