There may be nine million bicycles in Beijing but there are only four electric bikes for hire in Stretton - and half of them will not be available over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of May because we have entered them in the biggest electric bike event in the country!

The Tour de Presteigne brings together electro-bikers from all over the universe to pit their machines against each other in hill climbs, endurance races and other dastardly exercises.  Having seen the success of our bikes in the Talybontenergy tests up the Long Mynd we thought it was our duty to share them with the rest of the world.  Some races - for example one endurance test where participants are not allowed to pedal and the winner is the one with the longest battery life - are closed to us because our Kalkhoff Agutto bikes are pedal-assist (if you don’t pedal them you’ll stop).  We don’t apologise for this - we chose our bikes to encourage exercise; just not too much of it..

When we launched our bikes (in a spectacularly co-ordinated event involving rail travel, a horse-drawn carriage, Santa Claus, Apprentices and a host of elves) some unkind comments were generated about it being a PR stunt and doing nothing to counter global warming etc etc.  So first, we want all those detractors to know that we forgive you and hope you’re feeling better now; and second, we’d like to repeat that our electric bikes (available for hire from Central Garage right next to the station 01694 723939) are simply offering an alternative to the gas-guzzling day out.  We know it’s a long way up from Stretton whichever way you go, and many people quite understandably drive up to the top of the LongMynd or Sandford Avenue before taking a walk.  Others come to Stretton by train and take the Shuttle Bus.  Now, there’s another option and it’s a bit more eco-friendly and not too exhausting.

But we digress.  As well as entering Team Stretton in the serious events we’ll have our famous static bike on show offering heavy-duty bikers an opportunity to create their own electricity, power light-bulbs and possibly even enter a competition to see how high they can raise a ping-pong ball by generating a vertical air-stream.  There will be many other attractions, so it’s fairly obvious that if you’re not up the Long Mynd on 9th May with an Electric Bike you’d better be in Presteigne watching all the others!