Let’s harness pedal power across town

IN September 2017, Cheltenham hosted the finish of the Tour of Britain cycle race. Many will remember the cyclists finishing in the Promenade, not to mention the torrential downpour just before they arrived. The general view was that it had been a great success.

While Cheltenham Borough Council took the lead in bringing the race to Cheltenham and worked with many people to make sure everything went well, it was a major learning exercise in the amount of effort needed.

It was not something we could do every day and since then we have been working out the best way to continue to maintain the link with cycling which we are keen to encourage.

This month’s Festival of Cycling in Pittville Park was equally amazing and it showed a real appetite for an annual community event.

More than 500 people attended and the busiest place seemed to be the inclusive Wheels For All cycling sessions and the have a go junior cycling track.

More than 140 children had a go, a great outcome in supporting the No Child Left Behind year of action.

We welcomed many clubs to take part in the Western League Cyclocross races that happened alongside a multitude of other cycling activities together with a variety of local businesses.

It showcased just what can be achieved with a small budget working in partnership, a huge vote of thanks to everyone who made this happen.

Please keep your eyes peeled for the next cycling festival event in September which will be larger and in the town centre to encourage those visiting to support our business and retail offer.

The long term objectives and aspirations for this fledgling festival will be to promote cycling as a sport, recreation and means of transport, gaining stronger youth cycling offers in Cheltenham, inspire and provide pathways for women, girls and those with disability to participate at all levels, raise the standard of regional events and attract more major events to Cheltenham, and having a better spread of offer across disciplines to meet local need such as BMX, MTB, CX and road/ track cycling. Councillor Rowena Hay Liberal Democrat borough councillor for Oakley