RtN 2022 is Coming!

Ride the North WILL return in 2022.

There were times over the past 18 months that I didn’t know the correct next move and times when I wasn’t sure it was sensible to continue at all. Missing two years has been difficult and it’s far from a given that the event can pick up from where it left off.

I am still working on what RtN 2022 will be and where RtN 2022 will be. I plan to be ready to announce that before the end of November and to start taking bookings in mid December.

While Covid-19 seems to have changed so much there are things about the ‘RtN Project’ that I believe are clearer than before.

We (in Scotland):

• have some public health challenges – cycling has to play a greater part in addressing these;
• are currently hosting a climate summit – cycling has to play a greater part in this too;
• are still to see the full fallout of what covid means for tourism and leisure jobs – we’ve got a fantastic country for cycling and i’ve always been certain it has a bigger role to play;
• have many charities with ground to make up after a devastating period for fundraising – I want RtN 2022 to aim high to support this recovery effort.

I acknowledge that some momentum will have been lost and I acknowledge I was always a little unsure of whether I wanted to let RtN become a bigger scale event …BUT for 2022 the plan has to be to come back stronger.

I will make every effort to make Ride the North 2022 a festival that brings together cyclists of all abilities and more than ever to bring visitors from outside of our region. To try to do this, I have put more effort than ever into working collaboratively with public agencies. The North East of Scotland is a fantastic cycling playground and it was wonderful to see the megastars on the Cairn o’ Mount in September.  I think we can do something with impacts that go beyond this.  I have to give that a try!

Thank you for all the support for the event during these times. From here the tables turn!

Neil