Beth Craigen named Cycling Champion of underrepresented groups in Manchester

Beth Craigen is one of only a few women in Manchester to have been named one of Cycling UK’s 100 Women in Cycling 2024. 

Over the past few years, she has dedicated her spare time into getting more women into cycling and walking. 

She contributes to some of Manchester’s community cycling groups as a volunteer and was named Ordnance Survey Community Champion of 2024. 

The Lady Pedal cycling group

Beth is proud to be a part of the Lady Pedal cycling group which aims to get women cycling safely and confidently. Lady Pedal is a cycling group in Manchester that started as a student-led organisation in 2016, and has since been working with women in helping them to be more independent in cycling. 

Beth has worked with Lady Pedal for over eight years and her involvement with some of their cycling events are some of her proudest achievements.

Among her favourite achievements was a food bank ride last year which saw women with Lady Pedal cycle around Manchester collecting donations for Emmeline’s Foodbank. More than 100 bags filled with food and gifts were donated.

“I am honoured to have been recognised alongside such an incredible group of women doing amazing things in the world of cycling,” Beth said. 

“It’s nice to know other people notice.”

‘Filling the gaps’

For Beth, her current goal is to achieve her Mountain Biking Qualification by 2026, which will allow her to lead and guide others in mountain biking. 

“I try and fill the gaps that nobody else is doing and there are women of a marginalised background that don’t get access to cycling,” Beth said.

She believes there is a huge demand not just for women wanting to cycle, but also for women wanting to get into walking. 

Beth’s journey with cycling first started when she lived in London for work and she began to bike around the city for efficiency. She had always biked to places as a teenager, but for her, it didn’t take off as a big part of her life until she started to bike on her commute to work.  

When a job change led her up North she started to join cycling groups, led her to realise there was a gap in the market for women in cycling.  

“Making a change, even on a small level, and helping people to make more environmentally friendly choices are motivations,” she continued.

Government funding for cycling

Earlier this month, the Government announced £300 million to go towards new walking, wheeling and cycling schemes that will provide new footpaths, cycle tracks and guidance to councils to engage local communities in new projects. 

However, Beth remarked that she thought that more should be done for the cycling community than what the government have pledged to give, as she says cycling needs to be safer for women. 

Despite this, she is overall optimistic about the announcement: “It’s good the government is investing more and improving, as cycling needs to be more equal in terms of access.”

Councillor John Hacking, executive member for skills, employment and leisure, has spoken out about the proud moment Manchester was named the European Capital of Cycling, and said he wanted to celebrate the achievements of cyclists like Beth. 

He said: “Breaking down barriers and helping more people to cycling is so vitally important, so celebrating women like Beth who have made their mark in Manchester is truly a moment to savour and to celebrate.”