Team Green Britain Bike Week will return this year with Britain’s Biggest Bike Fix – an ambitious attempt to repair as many bikes as possible in a week.
Organisers say research has shown 77 percent of people own a bike, yet only 14 percent use them on a regular basis, which means thousands of once-loved cycles are languishing in sheds and garages across the country. The aim is to encourage people to dig them out, tune them up and liberate them from their rusting oblivion.
Anyone can set up their own 'Dr Bike' event, via the Team Green Britain website. They can offer their own services as a mechanic or search for someone else to do the spanner work via the Cycling Experts and Bike For All websites.
Andre Curtis, of Bike Week, told BikeRadar he's hoping the event can get more people out cycling on Britain's roads. "We've had the 'Dr Bike' at events for some years, but this year we've decided to expand the idea and make it a key theme of the week," he said. "We're hoping to liberate thousands of bikes from sheds up and down the country."
Team Green Britain Bike Week is one of the UK’s biggest annual promotions of cycling. Started by the Cyclists' Touring Club (now the CTC) in 1923, it continues to grow each year and in 2010, just under 500,000 people took part. It's designed to show how cycling can be part of people's everyday lives.
This week's event runs from 18-26 June. Since it was launched late last month, over 100 events have been registered, including bike maintenance workshops and cycling festivals. To find out where your nearest Dr Bike event is being held, or to set up your own bike event, visit the Bike Week events page.
