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Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees completes challenge by riding e-bike to all engagements for two weeks solid

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Jack Sexty's picture

Jack Sexty

Jack is the news editor here at eBikeTips, and also edits the live blog and writes tech news over on our sister site road.cc. Jack first became fascinated with e-bikes when an elderly gentleman breezed past him without a care in the world up a big old hill in North Wales - thus realising e-bikes are the real deal! Although he genuinely enjoys time trials and lung-busting climbs without assistance, Jack likes nothing more than cruising round town on an e-bike during his days off.   

5 comments

4 years 3 months ago

Great, but hopefully he hasn't now returned to his old ways?

4 years 3 months ago

Pah, humbug. My wife was Mayor of Congleton in Cheshire last year - she rode her Giant Liv stepthrough (with NO motor!) or her Giant Defy road bike to as many engagements and council meetings as possible throughout her whole mayoral year! That would be 30-40 or so as a rough guess. She was not a serious, regular cyclist before this and where we live is hilly!

She was re-elected in May onto the Town Council and also onto the Borough (County) Council and is now the Cycling and Walking Champion for Cheshire East. Whilst I type she is filling in grant applications hoping to secure £1.4m of National Lottery Climate Change funding to spend throughout the borough on sustainable transport. This is her FIRST application and she will be tapping into many, many more funding streams over the coming years trying to make real change locally.

Her plan is for safe cycling infrastructure to allow kids to cycle to school as an option, families to consider leaving the car at home for short journeys into and around town and to connect up a complete network around and across the town and then do similar through the many other towns in the borough. The ultimate plan would be to then connect the towns with dedicated cycleways so commuting becomes an option for many more who simply wouldn’t entertain riding on the roads.

She met with Chris Boardman and his team last week to gather knowledge and know how and is inviting him to be a keynote speaker at her upcoming cycling and walking conference for the other councillors, council officers and members of the public. It’s all about changing attitudes and garnering support which has been steadily growing over the last 5 years or so as more and more of the general public become aware that our current lifestyles are unsustainable.

And e-bikes will be key here locally - I mentioned our town is hilly earlier? Well, the town centre is down by the river and it is uphill in EVERY direction from the town centre! It’s alright building the infrastructure and willing people to have a go, but many will be completely put off having to walk home! This is where the e-bike will be so successful here, offering that bit of assistance to get people back up the hill home after a lovely free wheel into town!

PP

4 years 3 months ago

Well done, certainly to be applauded. One less car is always a good thing! However, the guy looks fit enough, he could do even better and ride a bike without a motor.

4 years 3 months ago

Rees is a divisive figure but this really is excellent.  Especially at this time of year when the weather is variable, and in Bristol where there are some pretty serious hills, it goes to show that it can be done.  In my opinion anyone involved in highways or planning for a council should be required to do this annually as a condition of being able to do their job properly unless they have a really good reason not to.

4 years 3 months ago

This is awesome, good on him. Saving the planet (well us really) bit by bit.