WHAT could persuade more of us to swap four wheels for two?

That’s the question that people in Ilkley will be encouraged to think about at a ‘Cycle-friendly Ilkley’ evening that will take place by Zoom on Monday, December 14, 7pm-9pm, co-hosted by Ilkley Town Council and Climate Action Ilkley.

The guest speaker Richard Armitage is executive director of the European Cycle Logistics Federation and has ridden a bike regularly all his life. He also knows Ilkley well, since his mother is a resident.

Richard will be helping attendees think creatively about how Ilkley might find ways to make things easier for those keen to make a larger proportion of their journeys by bike and will be explaining how some other towns and cities have managed to make progress with improvements to arrangements for cyclists.

An event spokesperson said: “The benefits of cycling for health (both physical and mental), for the environment, and for general wellbeing are well-known.

“Ilkley is undoubtedly a challenging town for bikes – the hills are steep, the valley is narrow and the roads are busy. However, there are increasing opportunities to overcome some of these obstacles.

“Electric bikes are now becoming more powerful, which offers the promise of extending everyday cycling to people who might otherwise have thought it beyond their capabilities.

“Systems for sharing, renting and loaning bikes of all kinds are becoming much easier to organise via mobile technology and more employers are signing up to tax-efficient government schemes to support the purchase both of regular and of electric bikes.

“Moreover, as reported last week by the Ilkley Gazette, West Yorkshire Combined Authority has recently received £10 million to boost cycling and walking across the region – which may make possible some local improvements to cycling infrastructure.

“In addition to the talk from Richard Armitage, the evening will also offer an opportunity to hear opinions, ideas and updates from Ilkley Cycling Club, Wheelbase, the Greenway Group, Climate Action Ilkley, Sun Street Eats and Bradford Council.”

All members of the public are welcome, whether currently cyclists or not.

To register for the meeting, please visit the Climate Action Ilkley website at https://climateactionilkley.org.uk/.