Swindon & Wiltshire News
Hills wheel out gold bikes for the peloton
Gold bicycles supplied by recycling firm Hills will line the route of the Tour of Britain as it passes through Wiltshire next week.
Thirty of the gold-painted bikes will be set along the route as the stars of world cycling – including Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish – pass through Wiltshire on Friday 12 September.
The Wiltshire section of the route passes through Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge, Hilperton, Seend, Devizes, Lydeway, Chirton, Rushall, Pewsey, Milton Lilbourne, Easton Royal, Burbage, East Grafton before leaving the county and onto Hungerford and the stage finish in Hemel Hempstead.
With thousands expected to line the route, the gold-painted bicycles are set to be captured by television crews following the race by helicopter.
Bicycles deposited by members of the public at the 11 recycling centres run by Hills are donated to the charity Jole Rider, who sent them to children in Africa as school transport.
“However, some of the bicycles are unsuitable for re-use, and 30 of these have been provided to the council to decorate parts the Tour of Britain route,” explained Henry Newbery, recycling manager for Hills Waste Solutions.
Council leader Jane Scott added: “The gold bicycles will remain on display after the race to continue the focus on the council’s 2012 Legacy programme to boost health and wellbeing and benefit the local economy.”
Once the bicycles have been removed they will be returned to Hills to be recycled as scrap metal.
