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Get cycling with Pedal Peak District

6 May 2010

Pedal Peak District will encourage people who don’t currently cycle, or do so only occasionally, to ride a bike in the beautiful surroundings of the Peak District National Park countryside.

Once residents or visitors have experienced cycling in the national park for themselves they will be supported to make riding a bike a regular part of their lives by signing up to www.pedalpeakdistrict.co.uk (opens in a new window)

The website includes cycling tips, cycling routes, competitions and details about the health benefits of cycling.

Pedal Peak District is run by the Peak District National Park Authority and funded by the Department of Transport through Cycling England.

John Fern, the authority’s head of communications, said: “Lots of us have bikes in the shed or garage at home but only bring them out once or twice a year. Pedal Peak District wants to inspire people to come out into the national park to try the 58 miles of traffic free, easy going cycling routes we have, plus the many miles of quiet country lanes.

“We particularly want to encourage people who wouldn’t normally think of going cycling. To help them we are running bike confidence, safety and maintenance courses and also offering people the chance to hire bikes from our cycle hire centres.”

The Pedal Peak District project also includes plans to create a new cycling route from Bakewell to Buxton. This will involve re-opening four former railway tunnels that have been closed to the public since the 1960s. Most of the £2.25m funding will be used to construct the new route, which should open in Spring 2011.

The project aims to see if having a positive leisure cycling experience can encourage more people to take the next step and go cycling to work, school, the shops or social occasions on a regular basis.