Glorious South London sunshine greeted the Brixton Cycling Fair in Windrish Square on Friday afternoon.
Lambeth Council is aiming to become London’s most cycle friendly borough. The event was accompanied by the London Cycling Show held at the Town Hall in the evening. A number of speakers addressed issues as to how the Council can realistically meet this ambitious aim.
The London Cycling Campaign had a strong presence and input at both events.
To achieve the tag of being the most cycle friendly borough, Lambeth Council aims to have all roads in the borough operating under a 20mph speed limit. The 100th bikehangar has just been installed. Residents can rent a secure outdoor lock up from £30 a year.
Music for the Bike Fair was provided by Electric Pedals - a PA system powered entirely by pedal power. Films were screen later on in the evening with the electricity once again coming via a bicycle.
Bike parking space was at a premium. The Windrush Square racks that spell out BRIXTON were full. Extra secure space was made available.
As ever, the lovely folk at Brixton Cycles were incredibly friendly and very laid back.
The local cooperative business was running a series of workshops throughout the afternoon, showing cyclists how to fix simple mechanicals on their bikes.
I Bike London also had a stall. This is an organisation that promotes cycling in London with a regular series of group themed rides.
The organisers of the Bike Fair wanted a family friendly event. It was great to see cyclists of all ages around Windrush Square on Friday.
Some classic bike frames were available to buy.
We’re no bike snob, but we did have plenty of bike envy for some of the beautiful machines that were on display.
The London Cycling Campaign very kindly ran a donation based bicycle cleaning service. We handed over a bike for a quick scrub and brush up. Fifteen minutes later and it was sparkling in the Brixton sun. The cleaning materials were all supplied by Green Oil.
One of the main attractions was the Come and Try sessions, staged in a safe cycling arena set up in front of the Black Cultural Archives.
Cargo bikes proved to be popular.
Boris Bikes were of course present - a rarity in Brixton, but they are edging ever closer…
Plus Dr Bike was doing his bike surgery thing.
No shortage of punters for the good Dr.
And so a really quite charming event for Brixton on Friday afternoon. It was the shopfront ahead of the policy. The aim of becoming London’s most cycle-friendly borough is a great target to strive for. Hopefully the optimism from Friday afternoon can be carried forward as planning and policy is made.