When Did Cycling Get To Be So Popular In Wales And South West UK ?

One of the UK’s long term strategy in terms of biking is to build some more cycle paths that links major local towns.

Bike trade icons, start ups and cycling on a whole are all the rage in Wales And South West England. So, UK gambling news reporters decided to delve in, to find how and why. It has been discovered that there are indeed events taking place in all that cycling space, along with wonderful media hype going on that influences bikers and the biking business. And why not, every country and town on the planet is now having their very own Tour.

• South West independent candidate, George Ferguson, keen cycle advocate
• Welsh Ironman event takes place in Tenby
• Wales set to offer cycle facilities similar to London’s

Tour de California, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Belgium and Tour de France, to name a few. Also, of course, if the area you live in is conducive to biking then it’s the perfect place for bikers and bike businesses to flourish. For, the North Wales’ landscape is a godsend to local cyclists and tourism, and it also gives bike industry staff members an opportunity to get on out there too on their bikes ever so often.

Booming cycling industry

Indeed more and more cycle events are taking place in the South West and in Wales alike. One biking businessman explained that “Wales is nailing the events sector with some superb international and national events taking place annually, including a host of sportives, IronMan Wales, Velothon and the hugely over subscribed Dyfi Enduro.” Velothon Wales is one event that the British aren’t planning to miss betting on under UK gambling laws, especially with all the popularity it has been getting in the papers.

The event will take place in June. Cyclists will ride in Cardiff as well as in the surrounding towns and villages. The event is expected to host 15,000 cyclists who will ride for fun. They will attempt the 140km or 50km route. Professional cyclists will also be hosted and will go for the 194km course, up and over The Tumble and Caerphilly Mountain. Also lined up for that very same weekend is the Etape Eryri in Caernarfon.

Filling a need

And that’s just the beginning. You will want to check out South Wales’ Change Gear Sportive, sponsored by Cardiff and Swansea bike shop Tredz, from June 21st, in South Wales. Race over the Vale of Glamorgan starting out from Penarth. One Welsh retailer County Cycles has played a major role in cycle events in the country. Peter Jones, co-owner of the County Cycles initiative, diversified the business, given the popular desire to cycle in organized events.

Jones has a sister company called Merlin Cycle Sport which was formed with co-worker, Phil Edwards. The brand sponsors Merlin Sportive, wherein 800 riders ride over the Black Mountain on the edge of the Brecon Beacons every June. The company uses some of the revenue generated to help local charities. It also supported the Merlin Cycle Sport held the first ever ‘Welsh Cycle Show’ at Newport Velodrome in 2014. Expect to see a repeat of this event come 2016.

What’s there to do with all that space? Cycle of course

When you think cycling, think trail centers. Developed by Bike Park Wales and other small biking enterprises over the years, cycling centers have contributed wholly to the North Wales economy in a huge way as VAM Performance’s Audrey Jones tells us “We enjoy some of the finest cycling country in Britain, stretching through the mountains of Wales to the coastal routes beyond. The variety of the terrain reaches across the various cycling disciplines.”

Wrexham, Wales, will once again be featured in The Tour of Britain. This year it will host the finale making it the third year in a row that the world’s top cyclists will be biking on Welsh territory. With all the money gamblers are betting on in UK sports betting sites, millions of pounds are going into the local economy. Just last year, the 24-mile stage, which finished on the Llandudno seafront, hauled in over GBP 3 million from over 110,000 visitors, in North Wales.

Cycling feeds media mania

With all those biking trails and events all across Wales And South West UK there is little wonder that the places like the county of Gloucestershire is like a true cycle media haven. Gloucestershire features many cycling stories though its trendy cycling media entourage such as Immediate Media, which umbrellas MBUK, What Mountain Bike, Procycling, Cycling Plus, 220 Triathlon, BikeRadar and Cycling News.

The aim of course is to propagate cycling, get bikers interested in the trails and the gear. The internet seems to be a big part of the media activity too. However, not so at the South Wales County Cycles they admit that “As a store we have not risen to the call of the internet and web sales yet. We do have a website and keep up to date on social media but we all enjoy the face-to-face customer experience.” That said, nothing can keep cyclists away from the fantastic riding that is right at their doorstep.