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Free bike health checks in Islington

Cyclists travelling past City Road Lock, Islington, will be able to get a free bike check next week. We are teaming up with Dr Bikes cycle mechanics to offer the service and get people thinking about how they use the towpath.

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We love people to come down to the canal and the Regent’s is arguably the busiest stretch of towpath in the country
Rosie Tharp

Dr Bikes will be at City Road Lock, Islington, between 4.30pm and 6.30pm on Tuesday 18 June. Volunteer Canal & River Trust towpath rangers will be counting numbers of pedestrians and cyclists, talking to towpath visitors and completing short surveys about their journeys, as well as asking people about how to best share the space on the towpath.

Rosie Tharp, strategic routes coordinator at Canal & River Trust, said: “As part of our work to safely manage walking and cycling on the Regent's Canal we're getting out on the towpath and talking to the people who use the canal. Cyclists can slow down and get a free bike health check to make sure they're road safe, and our volunteer towpath rangers will be finding out more about what makes the canal so important to visitors.

“We love people to come down to the canal and the Regent's is arguably the busiest stretch of towpath in the country, which does mean we ask people to be considerate and polite to one another to make it a pleasant place to walk, jog and cycle.”

Rosie will also be attending Islington's Cyclists Action Group's Bike Week breakfast on Tuesday at Owen Street, Angel, one of the busiest cycle crossings in London, to promote the event and talk to cyclists about their towpath journeys.

Thousands of people use London's towpaths every day. Our ‘Share the Space, Drop your Pace' campaign encourages people to consider others when using London's towpaths by being considerate and slowing down, remembering to give pedestrians priority.

Funding from Transport for London (TfL) is helping the Canal & River Trust to revitalise stretches of towpath in London for walking and cycling, and to support initiatives that encourage thoughtful towpath use.

Volunteer Towpath Rangers receive hands-on training and support and act as the ambassadors of the Canal & River Trust in fifteen boroughs across London. If you'd like to become a towpath ranger, please contact Dick Vincent on [email protected].

For more information about this event, please get in touch with Rosie Tharp on [email protected]

Last Edited: 13 June 2013

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