Join us at the Linmere Park Cycling Festival

Presented by Cycling UK, Making Cycling E-asier, Central Bedfordshire Council and Linmere, the festival will help anyone from the region improve their riding skills and confidence, with support and input from cycling professionals, including a European champion BMXer.

The free cycling event, running from 11am–3pm on Linmere Park, will offer a packed schedule of activities and demonstrations. This is about fun, families, inspiration and a lot of encouragement to use your bike in the coming spring and summer.

Sample the magic of riding an e-bike

Cycling UK will be hosting their Making Cycling E-asier programme, offering residents, around Luton and Dunstable, skills and confidence sessions. As well as getting to ride an e-bike on our park loop, the Cycling UK team will be on hand to assess your skills and requirements and guide you through e-cycling to give you the confidence to get riding quickly and easily. You can also sign-up for a free month’s loan of an e-bike, as long as you bring proof of residency.

See our e-bike test ride video on Linmere Park here.

For more information on the Making Cycling E-asier programme, watch the video here.

Boost your road cycling skills

The Cycling UK team will also be hosting led rides around the Linmere development. As you join the rides, you’ll be given advice on how to negotiate junctions, placing yourself safely on the road and how to ride alongside motorised traffic. If you’re not bringing your own bike, you can access one of our App Bikes, for free, to join the led rides.

Take the smoothie bike challenge

Take a minute’s ride on our Smoothie Bikes and enjoy the fruits of your labour! Use your pedal power to make your own smoothie to enjoy! The faster you go, the smoother it’ll be!

BMX flatland demonstrations

Matti Hemmings, the reigning British and European BMX Flatland Champion, will be bringing the wonder of Flatland BMX to Linmere, with demonstrations of what’s described as “Breakdancing with a Bike.” Get to meet Matti and get his advice on the basics of BMX street riding.

Dr Bike mechanic

If your bike needs a little TLC, drop by Dr Bike’s service centre to get your brakes and pedals checked, in preparation for your spring and summer cycling plans!

Pump your track riding skills

With our very own pump track on Linmere park, you’ll get the chance to build your confidence in pump track riding, including skills sessions to talk riders through the basics of riding a track, to build your skills in this rapidly growing cycling discipline.

Treasure hunt trail and a lot more

With a cycle treasure trail around the park for our younger visitors, prizes, giveaways, a café van courtesy of Really Awesome Coffee, there’s plenty for everyone to spend an hour or more when you visit.

Visiting the Festival

Visitors are encouraged to bring their own bikes to participate in the various activities on the day. Whilst some level of security will be provided, visitors bring their bikes at their own risk. For visitors arriving without their own bike, there will be the opportunity to ride one of the e-bikes around the park or App bikes on our led rides, whilst these will be subject to availability.

Linmere Park is situated close to M1 Jct 11a, next to the A5 bypass. Parking close to the park is limited, so visitors travelling by car are advised to park at The Farmstead, just one minute’s walk from the park, across Sundon road.

Look out for more updates on this page, including a full schedule for the day.

Presented by Central Bedfordshire Council, Department for Transport and Cycling UK