Guided Bike Rides
28 Mar, 4 & 11 Apr 2025
Cycle your way towards a more sustainable future with our series of bike rides, skills and maintenance sessions run in collaboration with North East Young Dads and Lads. With sessions for beginners right through to experienced cyclists, we hope you can join us in getting outside in nature and cycling our way into Spring.
Please note:
North East Young Dads & Lads and Baltic want to keep everyone safe on our bike rides. Every participant must wear a helmet on our rides, and for our longer rides you must have experience of riding a bike on road and paved terrain.
We reserve the right to stop cyclists who pose dangers to pedestrians, road users or other members of the cycling group.
Before each ride our bike leaders will help you make sure your bike is ready to ride and be on hand to assist with any punctures along the way. Please ensure you bring your own equipment (such as inner tubes), we can provide some if we have the right equipment, but if we don’t there would be little we can do.
All rides are subject to cancellation due to adverse weather conditions, we will contact you if this is the case.
Quayside Bike Ride (Short Route)
Friday 28 March
12:15-13:15
Free, Booking essential
Join the friendly cycling leaders at North East Young Dads and Lads for a short, 6-mile cycle over the Gateshead Millennium Bridge and along the Newcastle Quayside, ending back at Baltic.
The terrain will be mostly cycle paths, however some very short sections of road may be used. Although there may be some small hills, we will keep this ride as flat as possible and the Cycling Leaders will be on hand for encouragement and support. If you need a break along the route, no problem! Just let the leaders know.
This ride will be great for you if you haven’t been out on a bike for a while, are looking to get back into cycling in a supportive environment or just fancy a short Quayside group ride to top off your visit to Baltic.
Book your spot here. (1 ticket = 1 bike, if you plan to bring a child in a child seat or pull-along trailer attached to your bike, please only book 1 ticket).
Don’t have your own bike but interested in this opportunity? North East Young Dads & Lads have a small number of bikes, in a range of sizes, available to borrow for this activity. Contact us at myexperience@balticmill.com to arrange a bike loan for this ride.
Baltic to Gibside Bike Ride (Round Trip)
Friday 4 April
10:00-14:00
Free, booking essential
This ride is a 20-mile round trip group cycle led by the cycling leaders at North East Young Dads & Lads. From Baltic we’ll head along the Tyne Derwent Way, venturing through the Red Kite Trail and over Nine Arches Viaduct to Gibside (National Trust.)
This second Baltic Bikes ride is for more experienced riders. Although the route is mostly on cycle pathways, there will be small sections of road riding, and do expect a hill or two!
Halfway through the route, we will stop for a picnic lunch with the option to visit Gibside (National Trust) and rest before return journey back to Baltic. At the end of the ride why not pause in Baltic Front Room for a well-earned rest and a free cuppa on us.
We recommend that riders coming on this ride have cycled 20 miles or more previously and have a moderate level of fitness.
Book your spot here. (1 ticket = 1 bike, if you plan to bring a child in a child seat or pull-along trailer attached to your bike, please only book 1 ticket).
Don’t have your own bike but interested in this opportunity? North East Young Dads & Lads have a small number of bikes, in a range of sizes, available to borrow for this activity. Contact us at myexperience@balticmill.com to arrange a bike loan for this ride.
Family Bike Ride (Baltic to Seven Stories, Ouseburn)
Friday 11 April
12:00-15:00
Free, booking essential
Our final Baltic Bikes session of the season led by cycling leaders from North East Young Dads & Lads – this is a family session in two parts aimed at families with younger children, but all welcome.
We'll head out on a slow and leisurely mile-long group from Baltic to Seven Stories in Ouseburn, making use of the cycle paths along the way. We suggest that for this ride, adults walk or cycle with their children. Please note we will not cycle back to Baltic together, if you have borrowed a child’s bike we will be able to transport it back to Baltic. Booking essential.
Booking essential for Family Ride to Seven Stories. (1 ticket = 1 bike, if you plan to bring a child in a carrier or pull-along trailer on your bike, please book 1 ticket. For this ride you may also opt to walk alongside your child as they cycle, if so please only book 1 ticket, providing you do not plan to ride a bike yourself. For a child and adult each riding a bike, it’s 2 tickets)
Bike Tours and Spring Welcome are part of Birds, Bees, Bikes & Trees, a partnership project between Baltic, North East Young Dads & Lads and Newcastle University, funded by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund.