Celebrities help launch bike ride event in east London
Dame Kelly Holmes, left, with Lydia Bright, second left, Wayne Hemingway and David Stone, far right, lead the cyclists for Pedal On UK Picture: Isabel Infantes - Credit: Archant
Keen cycling fans braved the rain to join celebrities to launch a national cycling event in east London this morning.
Dame Kelly Holmes took to her bike with TOWIE star Lydia Bright, designer Wayne Hemingway, MBE and Paralympic Gold Medallist David Stone, MBE in an event across London that celebrated the completion of a network of walking and cycling routes.
They were joined by a group of 20 cycling volunteers who turned out to support the launch of Pedal On UK, a UK-wide tour of family-friendly bike rides and community festivals. It will run until September 7.
They began at the Olympic Park Greenway, in Marshgate Lane, Stratford and headed off to Victoria Park in Sewardstone Road, Bow, where the first community event took place.
There was a free breakfast for all cyclists, free bike services, wheel acrobatics workshops, Rollapaluza roller racing, pedal powered cinema, free bike security marking and entertainment.
Hundreds of people, all prepared for the soggy conditions, watched and cheered as the cyclists set off from the park for the next destination in their 35-stop route.
Pedal On UK is a 1,000 mile UK-wide cycle tour organised by charity Sustrans and backed by the Big Lottery Fund’s Keeping the Spirit of 2012 Alive campaign.
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The event marks the success of extending more than 80 new walking and cycling networks into the heart of communities. With more than four million people living within a mile of these networks, people of all ages and abilities can now get around their communities more easily.
