Cycling Made Easy in Coulsdon is staging a special bike ride on St George’s Day, April 23, to mark 125 years of cycling in the town.
They say, “When we found out that our building, 226 Brighton Road, Coulsdon had been used by cyclists as a meeting place and rest-stop as far back as 1891, we were astonished.
“With Cycling Made Easy offering the very latest bicycle technology today, this building represents 125 years of cycling history in Coulsdon.”
The modern day cycle shop is the former site of Coppard’s Temperance Hotel, and was a regular meeting place for groups of bicyclists who wanted to venture into the Surrey Hills on their modern machines. According to the local historians of the Bourne Society, “Cyclists sat under a chestnut tree to consume soft drinks.”
Today’s cycle shop owners say, “To celebrate, we are holding a special St George’s Day ride through Coulsdon featuring bikes from different eras – from a penny farthing, to today’s modern e-bikes.”
Who knows, maybe even Croydon Council’s brave leader, Tony Newman, could be persuaded to don his bicycle clips and show how there’s really no need for a car park in central Coulsdon…
In the showroom on St George’s Day, there will be a display of historical bikes and in honour of the Coppard’s Temperance Hotel, they will be serving Victorian inspired drinks to raise a toast to the cycling pioneers of old.
If you’d like to be on the ride, click to sign up.
- Still Croydon’s only independent news source, and based in the heart of the borough: 1.97 million page views 2013-2015
- Inside Croydon: Named among best regional media campaigns, 2014
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, a residents’ or business association or local event to publicise, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
