Ride Wollongong Festival of Cycling will begin this Saturday with a variety of events across the 16 days to cater to all level of riders. Photo: Destination Wollongong.
Four years after Wollongong became the centre of the cycling world, the city is hoping to reignite some of that two-wheeled energy with a new 16-day festival pushing off this weekend.
Ride Wollongong Festival of Cycling will see 26 events happen across the city from Saturday, bringing a festive atmosphere to Wollongong that recaptures the magic of the UCI Road World Championships.
It will bring together 14 participating groups and a huge cross-section of cycling from road and mountain biking through to families, kids, all-abilities riders and the wider cycling community for riding, racing, learning and community events.
Staged until 13 September, the festival begins on Saturday with AusCycling mountain biking programs at Mt Kembla and Cringila, before the first major community feature event, the Blue Line Community Ride, takes riders from Stanwell Park to Wollongong on Sunday.
The Blue Line event will be a non-competitive ride along the 2022 World Championships road course.
Across two weeks from 31 August, students will take part in Kembla MTB & History Schools Rides, while the program expands to include road racing, education courses, inclusive cycling opportunities and community participation events.
A key event will be the Brennan Illawarra Tour from 5-6 September, which will bring junior and senior riders onto some of the region’s most challenging and scenic roads and make state-level racing more accessible for the growing Illawarra Cycling Club members.
Club vice-president Garry Doughty previously said the tour, which was part of the NSW/ACT Road Series, marked a major milestone for the club.
“It’s the first time we’re doing the two-day tour in the history of the club,” Mr Doughty said.
On 11 September, two major events will be held – the Disability Trust All Abilities Day at Unanderra Crit Track, exploring inclusive cycling, and IBUG’s Pedalling Through the Cost-of-Living Crisis forum at BlueScope Visitor Centre from 9:30 am to 7 pm aimed at helping the family budget and health.
The Sea Cliff Bridge will be among one of the locations riders will get to take in during the festival. Photo: Destination Wollongong.
The finale to the festival will be a free Family Fun Day at Lang Park and Wollongong Foreshore on 13 September from 9 am to 2 pm, where people will also get to cheer on participants in the Ride4Rotary community ride while they enjoy the festivities.
Ride4Rotary is a fundraising ride organised by Southern Youth & Family Services and Rotary clubs to raise money for disadvantaged youth in the Illawarra, with 200 participants expected.
It will involve two loops from Lang Park around Flagstaff Hill – one a community ride and the other for families, children and all-abilities riders.
People can register online or on the day for free, with optional fundraising.
During the Family Fun Day, 20 community and cycling groups will be exhibiting, and activities will range from a module kids pump track, to a cargo bike challenge, petting zoo, cycling displays and Dragons and Hawks activations.
It will be a full day of riding and entertainment on the foreshore to celebrate healthy living, inclusivity and community spirit, while celebrating Wollongong’s UCI designation as a UCI Bike City.
For the event, there will be some changed traffic conditions between 6 am and 12:30 pm, with Endeavour Drive closed at Cliff Road and with no parking available, and Marine Drive closed between Cliff Road and Crown Street.
Destination Wollongong general manager Jeremy Wilshire said the festival program reflected Wollongong’s growing reputation as one of Australia’s great cycling cities, which had continued to evolve since hosting the UCI Road World Championships.
“What the program shows is that Ride Wollongong is not just one race or one weekend. This is 16 straight days of cycling activity across the city,” he said.
For those looking to attend the event via train, planned trackwork for the Illawarra and South Coast lines during this period have not yet been finalised. Check Transport for NSW Trip Planner or the Opal Travel app closer to the events.
See full details and registrations for Ride Wollongong Festival of Cycling to be held across Wollongong from 29 August to 13 September.