Get on your bike to celebrate new cycle route

Cyclists from across the borough are being invited to celebrate the opening of the Connect2 network - by taking part in a 22 mile bike ride.

The Connect2 network provides safe and accessible routes for cycling and walking using the Rochdale Canal with links from the canal using shared paths and quiet roads through Middleton, Heywood, Rochdale and Littleborough.

The official opening of the full route will take place at 11.00am on Sunday 14 August at Summit, Todmorden Road, in Littleborough. During the day there will be cycling activities at the canal-side at Ealeas in Littleborough, opposite the railway station.

Gentle towpath rides to Summit, ideally suited to families, will leave throughout the day led by qualified instructors from Link4Life. There will also be a cycling obstacle course. The activities are free and you don’t even have to have your own bike to take part!

The celebratory cycle ride, suitable for experienced cyclists, will take place the previous day (13 August). It will cover a distance of around 22 miles from Heywood to Sowerby Bridge, through Rochdale into Todmorden and Hebden Bridge before finishing in Sowerby Bridge where the opening of the Rochdale Canal Festival will be taking place.

The ride gets underway at the East Lancs Railway Station in Heywood at 10.00am on Saturday 13 August. Cyclists can also join in on the towpath at Castleton (by the station) at 10.15am or Oldham Road in Rochdale around 10.30am.

To find out more, or to book a free place on the celebratory ride, call or e-mail Seamus Kelly, CTC Cycling Development Officer, on 07786 550658 or seamus.kelly@ctc.org.uk