London Cycling Awards recognises top shops, movers and shakers - and, er, us

At an awards ceremony in London last night hosted by broadcaster Jeremy Vine, the London Cycling Campaign recognised five of cycling’s top brands, shops, champions and media outlets, and also marked the best cycling projects in the capital.

The London Cycling Awards were split into two categories. The consumer awards were voted for by the public in an on-line poll, while a panel of expert judges selected the awards for best cycling projects.

In the consumer category the winners were: 

• Cycling Brand of the Year: Look Mum No Hands! - Popular East London cycling-themed hang-out that now has two shops
• Best Large Bike Retailer: Wiggle — The internet mail order giant that probably needs no introduction
• Best Small Bike Retailer: Brixton Cycles - Worker’s cooperative founded in 1983 that’s a vibrant part of London’s cycling community
• Cycling Champion of the Year: Chris Boardman - British Cycling’s policy adviser who has been a tireless advocate for cycling and critic of government indifference
• Bike Blog of the Year: road.cc - You’re reading it.

Road.cc editor Tony Farrelly said: “It’s fantastic to win an award voted for by London cyclists for the second year in a row and on behalf of everyone at road.cc I’d like to thank all of those who nominated and voted for us.

“Being cheeky though I’d also like to suggest that next year the LCC has more than one media award category - maybe a London one, and one for national websites and magazines.

“It does seem a little unfair that London’s fantastic and influential bloggers are up against a website like road.cc which has a national audience.

“This one’s still going right at the front of the trophy cabinet though.”

In the projects category, the winners were:

• Cycling Initiative of the Year: Great Western Quarter Residents’ Bike Club - Loan scheme that offers residents of the estate the chance to have a bicycle at no cost for three months.
• Youth Sector Cycling Champion: Tower Hamlets BMX Club - Holding free BMX lessons and after school sessions, in 2013 the club reached over 1000 young people from across the borough. An important part of the community that also runs bike maintenance workshops
• Grassroots Project of the Year: Respoke Community Bike Exchange by Trailnet community interest company - Enables residents of Barking from marginalised families to swap their outdated, damaged, neglected or inadequate bikes for good quality, refurbished models at a low cost.
• Digital Campaign of the Year: Bikeminded, Kensington and Chelsea Council - Used online platforms to promote cycling to people living in Kensington and Chelsea.
• Best Space for Cycling Project: Royal College St cycle tracks, Camden - An experiment in ‘soft’ segregation using planters and ‘armadillos’ has provided a 2m wide cycle lane either side of the street and slowed motor traffic slowed without delaying buses.

Ashok Sinha, CEO of London Cycling Campaign said: “It was a great pleasure to give recognition to a breadth of people and organisations, from cycling brands and retailers to community projects and champions. Our winners have worked tirelessly to promote cycling so we feel honoured to be able to give them the thanks they deserve.”

Event host, Jeremy Vine, added: “It was great to see so many people coming together for the London Cycling Campaign. In the end, cycling is about enjoyment – and the night was a reminder that there are some great people doing great things on bikes and for bike riders and it is one of the most exciting areas of campaigning to be involved in. What a great night.”