I used to use a bike a lot, but around Hay, for me, distances tend to be either walkable or "I need to get the bus". At one point, I imagined myself cycling along with Islay the dog running beside me, as she had when she was young and fast - but I was given the bike just as she started creaking with arthritis, so it never happened.
Hay is a very good base for recreational cycling, though, and the first ever Hay Bike Fest will be held on the weekend of 12th - 14th April. It's being organised by the Hay Tourism Group, who have already held two successful Walking Festivals in Hay.
The 'hub' of the weekend will be at Hay Castle, with lots of different rides planned, for complete beginners (or so impossibly rusty that they may as well have never sat on a bike saddle before) up to experienced riders who think nothing of a 60km ride around the black and white villages of Herefordshire. There are time trials and trail rides and exploring the Sustrans routes. There are also bike maintenance classes, and first aid, and a Hay to Timbuktu sponsored ride (they're not really going all the way to Timbuktu - only to Whitney Toll Bridge and back, but all the miles add up!). There's a slide show by Anna and Luke Skinner of Drover Holidays - who cycled through Africa before they came to Hay, climbing a wall at Trewern (if it's wet), and even a pub quiz.
They have a website at www.haycycling.org, and can be contacted on 01497 822419.
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