Chris Hoy and cyclists! at the HSBC City Ride on Saturday

There must have been hundreds of all ages and sizes  turning out with their bikes for the 5km bike ride on a city road circuit.
Chris Hoy was also there.

The aim was “to give participants an enjoyable and safe city centre cycling experience in a traffic free environment”.

The circuit ran from Victoria Square, along Paradise Street, Boad Street and Hagley Road turning round at Highfield Road.

Luckily the weather was sunny and warm punctuated by the occasional high speed gust of wind, but this did not seem to affect the riders.

Sir Chris Hoy, eleven-times a world champion and six-times an Olympic champion, was interviewed and signed some give-away merchandise.

Rowsell Shand, two times Olympic cycling champion, was also interviewed and seemed to enjoy some friendly and amusing repartee with Sir Chris.

I heard Sir Chris say something like one of the great things about cycling is that it burns up so much energy that when you’re done you can go home and eat as much as you like of whatever you like without fear of any of the normal consequences (not his words).

Judging from the smiles everyone had a happy time a good communal experience.

Below is a gallery of photos I took.

Article by Geoff Caine

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