A community bike hub is holding a special, free celebration event for anyone who’d like to see more people using bikes as everyday transport in Preston.
Since its launch in June last year, Preston Pedals community bike hub has achieved a lot. From running free bike repair and maintenance sessions across the city to assisting people in accessing ride support sessions at Pedal Away to supporting Green Week and Sustainability Saturdays at The Larder.
A Celebration of Preston Pedals will take place at the Climate Emergency Centre, Market Street, opposite the flag market on Sunday 29th January 2023 from 1pm – 3pm.
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“It’s an open event,” said Julie Ridley, from Preston Pedals. “We would like everyone who supports Preston Pedals community bike hub to come, including people who have taken part in the bike repair and maintenance sessions or ride support at Pedal Away, our Facebook supporters, our friends in local authorities, NHS, UCLan and in the private sector. Anyone with an interest in there being more everyday cycling in Preston is welcome to come along.”
“We’ll be showing our short 10 minute film about everyday cycling in Preston, which features the work of Preston Pedals. There’ll be Dr. Bike/repair demos by our expert bike mechanic, Franc Ashcroft. You can hear what Preston Pedals has achieved and hear from bike repairers. There will be light refreshments and we’ll have some bike-related freebies. Come and share your big ideas for a future community bike hub in Preston.”
Preston Pedals was set up by Climate Action Preston using a Big Lottery Together for the Planet grant to pilot what a community bike hub might look like in Preston. The hub has offered free donated bikes, saving them from landfill to people who needed them as well as offering bike maintenance sessions free of charge to anyone who wanted to know more about how to look after their bike and to be able to troubleshoot any problems. And, the hub wanted to make instruction to learn to ride, and to ride more safely and confidently through a local project, Pedal Away, free to the learner.
“Ultimately, we want to be part of the change that recognises cycling for everyday journeys as a key part of how we tackle climate change whilst recognising that not everyone has the means to access a bike, or to pay for repairs and parts, or to pay for instruction to ride more confidently,” said Julie. “Through making a film during the life of the project, we sought to raise awareness of the importance of promoting everyday journeys by bike.”
“At the event, I will be delivering a short presentation of what we’ve achieved so far so we can use this to generate ideas for ‘what next?’”
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