Greater Manchester’s cycling community came together for the second annual ‘Lights Up’ night-time bike ride, an event designed to raise awareness of the issues women face when cycling, especially in the darker winter months.

The event, which saw over 150 women take part, began in All Saints Park where cyclists gathered clad in brightly coloured outfits with fairy lights decorating their helmets and bike frames to form a procession through the streets of Manchester.

Led by Manchester’s first Bicycle Mayor, Belinda Everett, Lights Up aims to challenge the underrepresentation of female cyclists and promote safer, more inclusive cycling environments across the region.

When asked what sparked her motivation to create this event, Belinda said: “There are very few events or spaces where women can come together and cycle. Especially in Greater Manchester right now, the number of women cyclists is still really, really low. So, having an event like this gives them an opportunity to all come together and ride together.”

The event formed part of Manchester’s official European Capital of Cycling celebrations and is part of a wider campaign aimed at igniting a cultural shift to address the underrepresentation of female cyclists on the streets of Greater Manchester and the challenges they face. By gathering together and increasing visibility as an “illuminated, empowered collective”, the Lights Up ride aims to encourage women to be confident and assertive on their bikes year-round.

This year’s ride, organised in partnership with Bee Pedal Ready, Station South, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), We Are Cycling UK, MCRActive, TfGM and Starling Bikes, kicked off with a striking view of Manchester Met’s School of Digital Arts (SODA) building illuminated to mark the start of the journey.

Natalie Carragher, senior lecturer in Multimedia Journalism at MMU and exhibition coordinator, said: “We are delighted to be part of Lights Up this year. Our students have joined the campaign, interviewing cyclists from across Greater Manchester about their experiences, creating original artwork, illustrations, photography and films, and working together to bring a range of creative projects to showcase as part of an ambitious exhibition.”

Read the full story in MMU’s student magazine aAh! 

Natalie has been supporting MMU’s partnership with ConnectSport which is aimed at creating and sharing more content and stories about under-represented communities, and the sport for development charities and organisations working within them. Read more here.

Story by Megan Levick and Kate Dening. Photography by Adrianos Falkonakis, Chloe Tomkinson, Megan Levick, Simon Webb.