A Welsh cyclist has embarked on a 3,000-mile ride around the UK riding a road bike made from bamboo.
Kate Strong, a 44-year-old performance coach, set off on Monday on a 90-day tour of the country, during which she will visit environmental projects, raising awareness of the climate crisis .
Already, she says, her bike is turning heads. “It’s a good business card,” she tells Cycling Weekly from a café outside Bury St Edmunds. “I’m getting into a lot more conversations with people purely because the bike is eye-catching.”
For Strong, who has been riding a bamboo bike for over two years, the material serves as part of a wider metaphor about climate action. “It’s a way of saying that we need to stop just doing a little bit. We need to take the time to go all the way back to zero and build up from there,” she says.
“My efficiency output is exactly the same, but the frame actually locks carbon into it. The frame’s carbon positive.”
Bamboo is considered to be one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable building materials in the world. It grows quickly, is naturally renewable, and absorbs carbon both above and below the ground. Strong is carrying 30kg in bags on her bamboo bike frame. Strong’s introduction to bamboo bikes came when she bought a build-your-own kit from UK-based company Bamboo Bicycle Club .
“Honestly, I didn’t even notice the difference,” she says, when asked about the ride quality. “I think I’m going to be staying with bamboo […]
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