27 May 2021

Get on your bike with Fit for Life

To support Bike Week (30 May to 5 June 21) Falkirk Community Trust are launching a series of easy to follow cycle routes for all abilities which can be downloaded online from 30 May with more trails accessed via the Falkirk Explored app.

To encourage more people to get on a bike and try out the new routes, ‘Dr Bike’ will be in Callendar Park to give your bike a free 20-point check, giving you some peace of mind before setting off on the cycle routes. ‘Dr Bike’ will be at Callendar Park (at the e-Bike station) on Sunday 30 May from 12noon to 4pm, The Helix Park beside the Plaza Café (at the lagoon) on Saturday 5 June from 12noon to 4pm, with an additional session at the Plaza Café on Thursday 3 June from 4 to 7pm.

Cycling is a brilliant way to help our bodies and minds stay healthy, helping us to get outside and active as well as being kind to the environment; for instance if you cycle regularly in adulthood you will enjoy a level of fitness equivalent to someone 10 years younger.  It’s also a great activity that you can do on your own or with the family.

Paul Finnie, Sport & Recreation Manager, Falkirk Community Trust said, “I hope that by pulling together our routes on easy to read maps we will encourage more of the local community to head outside and be more active, our routes have been purposely selected to offer something for all abilities.  As well as it being great exercise, it’s also a fun way to explore the area and to meet up safely with family and friends outdoors.”

As well as traditional bikes, locals and visitors now also have access to e-bikes and on 1 March, five new Forth Bike stations opened up in Falkirk on Monday, doubling the number of electric bike hire points across the area. The new locations are: Falkirk Community Hospital, Zetland Park, Grangemouth, Callander Park, Duke Street, Denny and Union Street, Bo'ness. 

The Forth Bike e-bike initiative has been developed with Falkirk residents in mind to aid easy commuting or leisure access to the rest of Forth Valley by e-bike. Falkirk is already leading the way in e-bike use in Forth Valley; accounting for 10,244 of the 14,299 Forth Bike journeys made last year and Falkirk users clocked up an impressive 50,000 miles in 2020

Marie-Hélène Houle, Communications & IT Development Director at Bewegen, the Canadian company operating the electric Forth Bike scheme, said: “2020 was an exceptional year for Forth bike. With 144 bikes now in Forth Valley, we are very impressed by the number of miles they have accumulated. The new stations in Falkirk have been greatly received by the communities they serve, and we have had users tell us how the bikes enable them to have fun exploring their local area by bike, connecting with friends, and commuting to work in an easy, accessible way. And to make the exploration of surroundings easier for Forth Bike users, it’s been exciting for us to be part of planning some of the routes featured on the Falkirk Explored app, connecting our bike stations. We want to see the success of the scheme continue, as there are many more areas to connect in Forth Valley!”