Bicycle comes 'home' for festival

Record-breaking cyclist Mark Beaumont with Tony Dymott, posing as Kirkpatrick Macmillan on a replica of an iron-wheeled velocipede bike, launched the event

Record-breaking cyclist Mark Beaumont has helped launch a festival at the birthplace of the pedal bike.

The Original Bicycle Festival will see a number of events held across Dumfries and Galloway.

It will celebrate the region's links to cycling, including its claim as the birthplace of the pedal cycle.

The first pedal-driven bicycle is said to have been invented in the late 1830s by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a blacksmith from Keir Mill, near Dumfries.

The 16-day event will include mountain bike and road cycling, rallies and coaching sessions, youth and women's activities and a host of cycling-themed cultural and educational activities.

'Great sights'

It was given the backing of Mr Beaumont, who last year completed his 195-day, world record circumnavigation of the globe on two wheels.

He said: "At the speed of a bike you can see great sights and meet wonderful people, all thanks to the vision of people like Kirkpatrick - you can even cycle around the world.

"The Original Bicycle Festival is all about the joy of getting on a bike and celebrating the legacy of Kirkpatrick in wonderful cycling country."

The festival, which runs between 9 May and 24 May, has been organised by government agencies, local government and community groups, along with sporting agencies and volunteers.

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