Cargo bikes all the rage

One of them council convener David Parker, said: “I was delighted I was able to make it along on Saturday.

It was a great event, and the bikes look fantastic. Active trave l is encouraged by the council, which recognises the contribution it makes to better health and reducing carbon emissions.”

The climax of the day was a parade of a dozen of the bikes round Gibson Park, then around

the centre of Melrose, bringing traffic to standstill and bewildered looks from locals and

vistors alike. (Photo attached)

The Chair of Greener Melrose, Donald McPhillimy said, ‘The Demo Day was a big success

thanks to the hard work of the contributing organisations and the people who turned up.

We see these innovative machines as a small part of the solution to the transport of the

future. With oil prices shooting up, we need to find alternatives to private cars as the

answer to all our transport needs. If a local business would like to try out our eCargo bike,

they just need to contact us at [email protected] and we will arrange a free trial

and some basic training.’

According to the organisers, there are many reasons for using pedal power- health, well-

being, fun, low running costs, distinctive marketing, zero pollution and safe for other road

users. However, roads are not always safe for cyclists and new tracks, which are common

in many other countries, would be welcome.

Organisers of the eCargo Bike Demo Day were Greener Melrose, Cycling UK, Sustainable

Selkirk, Sustrans, Just Cycle and Raleigh. The group hopes to organise another similar

event during the summer.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​