British Cycling introduced Breeze in England in 2011, but it wasn’t until 2014 that the first Breeze ride took place in Scotland. Since then, the programme has gone from strength to strength, empowering more women to get involved in cycling. As part of Women and Girls in Sport week, we're looking back at Breeze success so far.
The introduction of Breeze offered women the opportunity to build their cycling skills and confidence in women-only rides, recognising the disparity between the number of men and the number of women cycling. In that first year there were 32 Breeze rides, with a total attendance of 111, cycling 171 miles. Many of these first rides took place in Fife, although the Breeze Champion training courses were delivered in Glasgow in the first year of the programme in Scotland.
In 2017 HSBC UK sponsorship led to an expansion of Breeze and the recruitment of a Participation Programmes Officer at Scottish Cycling to oversee its development. Courses were held in Dumfermline and Edinburgh, in addition to three Glasgow courses, adding 45 new Breeze Champions.
Since then there have also been training courses in Inverness, Stirling, Aberdeen, Dundee and Dumfries. We now have Breeze Champions leading rides as far north as Thurso and as far south as Castle Douglas. The growth of Breeze is seen most dramatically in the figures from the rides. Last year there was 995 Breeze rides in Scotland, cycling 13, 936 miles and with a total attendance of 3,444.
2014
32 rides
111 attendance
171 miles cycled
2019
995 rides
3, 444 attendance
13,936 miles cycled
Before lockdown we were looking forward to welcoming new Breeze Champions across Scotland with five Breeze Champion training courses planned for each of the five Scottish Cycling regions. Sadly we’ve only been able to deliver one training course this year, with ten women braving atrocious weather conditions in Edinburgh to complete the newly coronavirus-adapted course.
Our Hawick Belles Breeze group organised the ‘Midsummer Breeze Sportive’ in June 2019, our first Breeze-themed sportive in Scotland. A total of 107 women completed either the 25 or 40 mile route, for many their first ever sportive, with the event raising money for the Hawick Community Pump Track project. Plans were in place for a further event in 2020, which sadly could not happen. We’re crossing our fingers and toes for 2021.
Breeze Mountain bike rides started in Scotland in 2019, largely through a bursary programme enabling some of our volunteers to achieve the level two Mountain Bike Leadership Award. We now have 13 of Breeze Champions who can lead Breeze mountain bike rides, which is slightly more than 10% of the total number of Champions. There have been 43 Breeze MTB rides, attended by 120 and cycling a total of 443 miles.
Our volunteers are at the heart of Breeze and the reason why it is doing so well. We currently have 102 women volunteering as Breeze Champions, leading rides in their local communities, helping more women to (re)discover the joys of cycling.
We’re proud of every single one of our volunteers, and grateful for everything that they do to support the growth of women’s cycling in Scotland. If you’d like to join our brilliant volunteer team register your interest here and we’ll let you know when we next have a Breeze Champion training course running in your area.
As part of Women and Girls in Sport Week we have a range of activities and information to shine a spotlight on women and girls participation in cycling. #SheCanSheWill Find out more HERE.
