We held our first monthly social bike ride on Sunday, 1st February and it was great to see so many of you on your bikes, trailers and trikes.
The Hope Valley Bike Collective launched in August 2025 to help support and inspire people of all ages and abilities to cycle more in the Hope Valley. One of our early ideas was to create a friendly, accessible monthly social ride called ‘‘Any Bike Will Do’. And that’s exactly what we did!
The Ride
At 10am on Sunday morning, the mist hung low over the valley, but at Bamford Recreational Ground there was a buzz of excitement as people emerged from the fog in colourful layers, wheeling an array of bikes. We gathered together, chatting and making final adjustments before setting off towards the dams.
We kept a gentle pace and with 26 riders in total we made steady progress up Water Lane and onto Thornhill Trail. Along the way we passed walkers, joggers, fellow riders and even encountered a few cows. The atmosphere was cheerful and it felt good to be outdoors together. We all made it up the final hill to reach our destination, the famous ‘plug hole’ at the dams. After a short breather, some conversation and a peer over the wall, we enjoyed the (mostly downhill!) return along the trail, continuing on to The Kettle Cafe at Hope Valley Garden Centre for a well-earned coffee and cake.
We were thrilled by the turnout for our first social ride.I left feeling warm, encouraged and excited for the next one. One participant said ‘this is exactly the type of ride I was after. It gets me out of the house and feels manageable. I was also looking forward to meeting some new people who I could cycle with!’ Another shared ‘Now I’ve got my bike out of the garage for the first time this year, it makes me want to use it again’.
Ways to get involved
Our ‘Any Bike Will Do’ ride takes place the first Sunday of every month. Our next ride is on Sunday 1st March, meeting at Bamford Recreational Ground and setting off for 10am. You can find more information about our upcoming events here
If you’d like to find out more about the Collective or get involved in future events, come along to our meetup on Tuesday 10th March, 7-8pm at Hope Tea Rooms, details here. Everyone is welcome, especially those who are new to cycling.
In the meantime, please join our Bike Collective Whatsapp Community or email Emily with any questions EmilyGait@hopevalleyclimateaction.org.uk
This activity forms part of the Move More Hope Valley project, supported by High Peak Borough Council
