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More on KentOnline
Get on your bike this summer and have some outdoors fun – we show you where to head to.
Bonkers about bikes?
If you want to get the whole family out for a cycling treat, Betteshanger Country Park near Deal is holding a free family day dedicated to two-wheeled fun.
Visitors can see bike-based feats, including the spectacle of Bicycle Ballet’s Strictly Cycling and British cycling machines with Mr Phoebus’ Penny Farthing experience.
You can also pedal your own smoothie with Wheely Groovy, join time trials and wacky races or show off your treasured bicycle in a vintage parade.
There are prizes are up for grabs throughout the day, if you enter the Bonkers Bike Race with a homemade two-wheeled vehicle or the fancy dress race.
Mr Phoebus’ Penny Farthing experience will be at the park from 9.30 to 5pm. Rides cost £5 and tokens can be bought at the Cycle Hire, next to visitor centre.
Visitors can also pop to the food and drink village and bicycle retail stalls and see the vintage bike exhibit from Dover Museum.
* You could win a day’s cycling at Betteshanger for your family if you sign up to our weekly newsletter by Friday, August 19. For details go to kentonline.co.uk/whats-on/newsletter-sign-up/
The day’s events include races for diffferent ages, a bike parade, Strictly Cycling and fancy dress. The programme includes:
9.30am to 10.30am: junior mountain bike race.
10.30am to 11.30am: adult mountain bike race.
11am to noon: Vintage Bike Parade.
1pm to 1.30pm: Bicycle Ballet’s Strictly Cycling
1.30pm to 2pm: Road Club’s Race Off
2pm to 2.30pm: Bicycle Ballet’s Strictly Cycling
2.30pm to 3.30pm: Fancy Dress Bike Race
3.30pm to 4pm: Bicycle Ballet’s Strictly Cycling
4.15pm to 5pm: Bonkers Bike Race
DETAILS
Betteshanger’s Bonkers Bike Festival will be on Sunday, August 14 between 9am and 5pm. It is free to take part although there are charges for some activities.
Find Betteshanger Country Park on Sandwich Road, Deal, CT14 0BF.
WHERE ELSE TO HEAD ON YOUR BIKE
The Cyclopark is a sports centre, offering activities for all ages and abilities, from a 2.9km floodlit road circuit, mountain bike trails, BMXing, a multi-use games area and a cycle-based playground for younger visitors. There is also a skate park and bike trails into the surrounding countryside, with two routes of 5.2 miles and 5.8 miles.
For details go to cyclopark.com
The Forestry Commission 2,000 acre site at Goudhurst has a range of cycling options with trails, cycle tracks and cycle hire and even showers for those wanting to get on their bikes.
Options include more than 13kms of single-track mountain biking and 10km of family cycle track. The cycle hire includes adapted bikes for disabled people and those with learning difficulties. For details visit forestry.gov.uk/bedgebury
An oasis for cyclists, the pub near Faversham offers a place to park your bike, re-hydrate and refresh, as well as meeting like-minded enthusiasts.
There’s a cycling workshop, bike hire, bike buddies to cycle with, DIY bike maintenance courses, bike jumbles and weekend and nature rides.
For details go to thefreewheel.pub or find it at Head Hill Road, Graveney, near Faversham or call 01795 538143.
The new bike store has opened at Kent Life in Maidstone, with the latest e-bikes from from brands such as Raleigh, Bosch and Yamaha.
German company Haibike are represented with state-of-the-art electric mountain bikes, and there’s also British folding electric bike Gocycle. Owner Tony Scudder said he was keen to show how easy electric bikes are to use and the potential benefits, including savings on travel costs and time, or even that e-bikers are known to be fitter and ride more often than they did pre-electric. For details contact Electric Bikes Kent on 01622 687407 for a test-ride or a hire.
The BMX tracks in the Maidstone park, which were first built in 2010, have been restored thanks to the Invicta Gravity Riders and are safe for all ages and abilities.
