Cycling is good for your health and is environmentally friendly! There are great routes to follow, but people will only cycle if they feel safe. More work could be done to improve safety for cyclists within the parish, and there is a consultation under way for a designated cycle route between Chalford and Stroud (led by Stroud Town Council).
Chalford is a difficult place for many people to cycle. There’s a web of small roads around our neighbourhoods and the valleys are fairly flat – but there are lots of hills! Even on top of the hill the minor gradients make cycling much harder – at least without electric bikes.
There are plenty of bike retailers in the area. However if funds are tight and you have a young adult who in the family who like a bike contact the Access Bike Project in Stroud who renovate bikes for use by young people. Equally if you have a bike in your shed you seldom use – why not donate it to the project? Both pedal bakes and e-bikes are eligible for the tax-saving cycle-to-work scheme operated in conjunction with your employer (you can save 25-40% of the cost of a bike and spread the cots over time). The scheme will now cover e-bikes as well.
For local bike repairs try
- Golden Valley Cycle Repairs, contact Mark at mark@gvcr.co.uk 07795 621699 (High Street, Chalford)
- Ritch Hill Cycles 07947 247884
- Cai Shaw (Tanglewood Way) is a qualified Bike Mechanic and has a purpose built bike workshop in the garden. Call 07917 042 894
- The Ark, Brimscombe
- Cytek, Cainscross
- GC Cycles Mobile Bike Repairs (will collect and return)
If you’d like to buy one or find out more about electric bikes there are several local suppliers
The Ark, Brimscombe, Stroud, GL5 2TA
eCycleUK at 10 John Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2HA
The Bike Works at Frogmarsh Mill, South Woodchester, Gloucs GL5 5ET
Edemo Bikes 2 Market Street, Nailsworth, Gloucs GL6 0BZ
Alternatively you can purchase a kit to convert your pedal bike to an electric one, using a kit from a supplier such as Swytchbike.
The sort of things we’d like to do to encourage cycling are:
- Find out how many local people have bikes, whether they use them and what for / why not.
- Get ideas from the web and the cycling charities (especially Sustrans) then build our own plans.
- Work with the Parish Council, Stroud District Council and GCC to look at safer bike routes around Chalford and to Stroud and Bisley.
- Turn these ideas into separate, achievable projects such as: a bike club; electric bikes demos; guided ‘get back into cycling’ local rides; local cycling events; new cycle paths; quiet /restricted roads and lanes where cars, bikes and pedestrians share the road, bike classes, ‘cycle parking’ secure boxes, bike racks on buses.
We need help to do this – if you have some time please do contact us info@chalcan.org.uk