Cycling - A Social Revolution
To coincide with this year's National Bike Week (16-24 June '12), the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar will display ‘The Raleigh: The all steel bicycle', a ladies bicycle used in Corr na Mona, Co. Mayo in the 1960s.

In the 1860s, cycling was an elite pastime for young middleclass men due to the cost and style of bicycles. By the 1890s, with the introduction of the pneumatic-tyred safety bicycle, women were more involved in the sport.

By the 1930s, the bicycle became the key mode of transport in every parish in Ireland. People had always walked great distances but the bicycle allowed for even more ground to be covered - its introduction dramatically changed the social life of ordinary people in rural Ireland.

See those lives illustrated in great detail at the Museum of Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.

Smart Travel Castlebar is organising a number of events to mark Bike Week 2012. Have you considered cycling to work for the week? Smart Travel Castlebar will provide free teas, coffees at Lough Lannagh Holiday Village to participants every morning during the week between 8:30 to 9:30 am. This is a real opportunity to share your commuting stories over a cuppa with others. Showers will also be available.

Participants who register and cycle to work for the week or those who register to take part in the mass cycle will also be eligible for a free draw and the opportunity to win a brand new hybrid bike. To register, contact smarttravelcastlebar@yahoo.com or phone Thérèse at 086 3483414.

On Wednesday 20 June, starting at 1 pm at the Mall in Castlebar, a mass cycle will take place around Castlebar and Lough Lannagh. The organisers are encouraging everyone to participate to show your support for making Castlebar a more cycle-friendly town. The Cycle will finish at Lough Lannagh Holiday Village where refreshments will be provided. Get involved - join in the fun during BIKE WEEK !!