Hosted by Huntly Development Trust Facilitators Tim Bowden Donald Boyd

Hosted by Huntly Development Trust
Facilitators:
Tim Bowden
Donald Boyd
Dave Simpson
 Share Huntly Cycle Survey results
 Find out what’s already going on in and around Huntly
 Discover Huntly’s cycling history
 Discuss what next?
 June-September 2013 (Bike Week to Huntly Hairst)
 Over 110 responses
 53% male, 47% female
 47% live in Huntly itself, 19% within 5 miles
 41% aged 31-50; 22% aged 51-70;
 20% aged 13-18; 6% < 12
 11% aged 19-30; 0% > 70
 Full results available at
www.huntlydevelopmenttrust.org
 A snapshot of what people said….
 Most people own a MTB (62%) and/or a road bike
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(42%) – but a wide cross section
Even split from unused to daily use
Mostly used for pleasure and general fitness
Almost 1/3 use the bike to get to work
¼ use it to do shopping
10% to get to school
 5.54 (Scores in all the boxes)
 What makes it good:
 Quiet roads & streets
 Scenery/landscape/views
 Variety of (circular) routes & terrain
 Forest tracks (Bin, Gartly Moor, Battlehill, Clash, Mungo)
 What makes it bad:
 Lack of cycle only paths/routes
 Traffic level & speed
 Driver behaviour
 Road & path conditions
 Interaction with A96 and A97
Top 8 actions to improve the situation:
1 Cycle paths separated from other road users
2= Cycle lanes painted on the road
2= Development of safe routes to school
4 Local routes with downloadable/printed maps
5 Local waymarked off-road cycle trails
6 More cycle parking in the town centre
7 Regular local guided rides on-road
8 Regular local guided rides off-road
Outcomes
 I would cycle more often (62%)
 I would encourage others to cycle (55%)
Importance
 Quite (41%) or very (53%) important to Huntly’s future
Develop & promote Huntly & District
as a cycle destination?
 92% yes
 The Bike Shack
 Open for repairs, and sales of second hand bikes, taking donations too
 TGS Mountain Bike Club
 After school club with qualified leaders
 Huntly Autospares
 Now 60% of in store stock cycling related
 Organised Rides
 Just the one at present developed after 2013 HBW, but more to come?
 Bike Hire
 The Huntly Nordic & Outdoor Centre has a number of Giant Mountain
bikes in various sizes for half day and daily hire
 Huntly Bike Week
 2014 sees this annual event in it’s third year
 Ming the Merciless
 Well-established annual run and cycle event
 Breaking news! – Huntly rickshaw – Darren
 …..
Did you know…
 Huntly once had it’s own cycle race track?
 It was on the Market Muir and was used like an outdoor velodrome for
circuit racing
 Huntly once boasted 4 bike shops?
 40 Duke Street - 14 Bogie Street - 3 Duke Street - 2 Square
 The Huntly Express once had a cycling column?
 Every week around the turn of the previous century (1900)
 Huntly used to have it’s own cycling club?
 Strathbogie Cycle Club – Huntly Cycle Club – Strathbogie Wheelers
Club
There is much more meat to the cycling history of Huntly, progressing research
and collecting photos, stories and memorabilia and producing a
booklet/exhibition could be a possibility
 Is there enough interest in moving forward?
 Is anyone willing to put themselves forward to help
develop further?
 What ideas are there out there?
 If positive, how do we move forward as a group?
* Photos: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
 Confirm sufficient interest to move forward
 List of potential projects
 Identify interested individuals
 Schedule next meeting(s)
Happy Cycling!
[email protected]