Bradford Bike Hub initiative will get you on your bike (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford Bike Hub initiative will get you on your bike

11:00am Monday 4th February 2013 in News By Claire Armstrong, T&A Reporter

A team of bike fanatics have opened a one-stop-shop for cyclists in Bradford as part of a national project to encourage more people to ride into work.

The Bradford Bike Hub, based at Bradford College, offers bike rentals, second-hand cycles and equipment for sale, a repairs workroom and information on guided tours and lessons.

It is being run mainly by staff and volunteers at Cycle-re-Cycle, a city centre project that reconditions unwanted bikes so they can be used once more, and it has been funded through the Learning to Travel Differently Project which is a partnership of Sustrans, Bradford Council, the University of Bradford, Bradford College and Cycle-re-Cycle.

Cycle-re-Cycle volunteer Chris Wilson said: “In theory, somebody who has never cycled before could approach us and say, ‘What do I do?’ “We can point them in the direction of one of our guided rides so they can build up their confidence. They could get a hire bike, then they could buy one and we could help maintain it.

“Then it may even come back here and be recycled again, so it’s almost a full life cycle.”

Although the Bike Hub is open to all, it is primarily aimed at getting staff and students at the college and the University of Bradford on their bikes.

Sustrans’ colleges and universities officer for Bradford, Jennie O’Hara, said if people could cycle in Bradford, they could cycle anywhere.

She said: “I lived in Kathmandu for a year, while I was studying for an MA, and the hills here are more challenging – even though that was in a Himalayan kingdom!”

Mr Wilson said the high profile of British cycling, and superstars like Tour de France champion Sir Bradley Wiggins, were really encouraging people in Bradford to take to two wheels.

The Bike Hub, in the Garden Mills building off Westholme Street, is open from 12.30pm to 5.30pm on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, 12.30pm to 8.45pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 10.30am to 2.30pm on Saturdays.