Cyclists are set to ‘reclaim’ parts of Leeds-Liverpool Canal deemed to be unsafe at night with a special Bike Night ride.
Creative hub Open Source Arts is celebrating Bike Week 2018 with a Bike Night event on Wednesday 13th June, which includes a free drop-in bike maintenance cafe and a community bike ride via the canal into Leeds city centre.
Phil Marken, Director of Open Source Arts, said:
“We are big fans of pedal-powered transportation, which is why we’re marking Bike Week 2018 with our very own Bike Night event, in collaboration with Leeds Bike Mill.
“The stretch of the canal we will be cycling has historically been perceived as unsafe, particularly later in the evening, and this solidarity bike ride aims to challenge this by riding together and reclaiming the area.”
At the bike maintenance cafe, running from 5pm to 8pm, trained bike mechanics from Leeds Bike Mill will be available to help cyclists make sure their bikes are safe and offer advice. At 8pm, there will be an open-to-all ‘Reclaim the Canal’ bike ride into the centre of Leeds along the canal.
Open Source Arts’ vegetarian and vegan cafe will also be open all evening, serving tea and coffee, cakes, pies and salads.
Bike Week, delivered by Cycling UK, is an annual opportunity to promote cycling and show how cycling can easily be part of everyday life by encouraging everyday cycling for everyone.
Bike Night is part of Open Source Arts’ new season programme of activities and events.
A full calendar of this programme can be found on the Open Source Arts website.
I don’t know about “unsafe”, but much of the canal towpath is completely black after dark. Even with a powerful front lamp it is pretty scary, and if you fall into the canal by accident nobody is going to find you until the next morning. I rode it once and never again.
It’s a bit irresponsible to encourage people to cycle along the towpath after dark.