Foodie thoughts

SAVED BY THE BIKE BELL

Folk living in the more remote corners of the Calder Valley are no longer surprised when their groceries turn up on a bike. Given the number of narrow, cobbled lanes crisscrossing the hillsides it’s a no-brainer that two wheels are going to be better than four. Someone had to come up with the idea and transport consultant and hilldweller Beate Kubitz had a lightbulb moment. She says: “The pandemic has meant many people have to isolate because they were exhibiting symptoms or very vulnerable. It became clear a lot of people would become dependent on delivery services.

“One of them was me: a cough early in March and I and my entire household became part of this group for two weeks. With supermarket deliveries maxed out I wondered how could I support our local shops and suppliers to meet the needs of people who had to stay at home? What if we could help meet those needs with electric cargo bikes rather than relying on petrol and diesel cars and vans?”

In that moment, Cargodale was born. “At the start we had about 10 volunteer cyclists and in our first 10 days we completed 87 deliveries in 135 miles. We’ve now doubled the number of deliverers and added Halifax to our rounds.”

Their mission statement spells it out: “We deliver. Shopping, hot food, cold food, stuff. We can navigate tiny lanes, zip round congestion, take on all the hills. No pollution, no stress. Super speedy (but no speeding). Our riders are trained, insured and will make sure everything arrives to schedule.”

■ Order a veg box from Valley Organics, eggs and meat from Great Rock

Coop and Devil’s Blue from Calder Cheesehouse and you’ll be offered a bike delivery – and if you fancy a Friday night curry and beer, dial in a Dahl Makhani from Kirstie Fagan’s kitchen and a Trappist ale from Curators of Craft and listen out for the bike bell.