Local Bike Shop Day 2023 set for 29th of April
Following a survey of industry colleagues, the date for Local Bike Shop Day 2023 has been set, for Saturday 29 April.
Over 500 bike shops got involved with Local Bike Shop Day last year, with organiser the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) believing that thousands of people engaged with the campaign by shopping at, or using the services of, promoted local IBDs.
This year, training and accreditation scheme for bicycle technicians, Cytech, will support the campaign. Cytech has delivered over 22,000 technical training courses since being developed 40 years ago.
Key backers of Local Bike Shop Day last year included the Department for Transport, Bike is Best, Cycling UK and British Cycling.
Jonathan Harrison from the ACT said: “Planning for this year’s big day is well underway and we’re looking forward to celebrating the invaluable role that IBDs play in the cycle industry and our communities at large on April 29th. Everyone knows that the winter has been extremely tough for retail, but the best way to show support for our shops is to get out and use them.
“Local Bike Shop Day is designed to encourage the cycling community to do just that – whether it’s dropping your bike off for its service at your regular IBD or cycling out to a shop you haven’t visited before in a neighbouring town, cyclists drive this campaign. Thousands of people from across the cycling community have joined in across the years and we hope this year’s campaign will be bigger than ever.”
Inspiral Cycles in Bishop Auckland got involved with the event last year. Fiona Ewing from the shop said: “We were blown away by some of the comments our customers posted online for Local Bike Shop Day in support of Inspiral Cycles as their local bike shop. It was a great focus for our social media posts and they were shared widely, while getting involved with the hashtag #SupportYourLocalBikeShop increased our online profile and has led to new customers discovering us.”
IBDs can find ideas on how to take part, such as guided bike rides for customers or offering a small amount of free services on the day, on the Local Bike Shop Day website. https://localbikeshopday.co.uk/get-involved/bike-shops
#SupportYourLocalBikeShop will be the social media tag to raise awareness of the campaign.
Bike shops don’t have to be a member of the ACT to get involved in Local Bike Shop Day, but they can sign up for free here: https://www.cycleassociation.uk/join-the-act
