Cycling scheme is just the job!

LIVERPOOL employees are being urged to ditch the car for their journey to work - and opt for pedal power!   Cycle Aigburth is launching a new scheme – Bike To Work - offering workers who have been thinking about cycling to work, but aren’t sure how to get started, all the support they need.  Bike To Work is completely free, is open to anyone who works in the city, and gets underway on 1 July 2011. It focuses on 2 tailor made initiatives:-

►  Organised group-commuter rides. Led by qualified cycle ride leaders, these rides aim to help new and returning cyclists to start cycling to work by teaming them up with other commuters, improving their confidence and helping them find a suitable route from their home to place of work.

►  A Bike Buddy Scheme. Focusing on those who prefer to have personal attention and individual advice, ‘Bike Buddies’ partners people with an experienced cyclist who knows the local cycle network.

Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transport, Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, said:- "Cycling into work brings many, many benefits – from improving your health and avoiding traffic jams, to saving money and helping the environment. However, choosing the right equipment and the most appropriate route, as well as finding out how to cycle safely can be a daunting task. This fantastic scheme will help give people who are thinking of cycling to work the confidence they need and show them that, with a little bit of help – making the switch from the car, bus or train to the bike may not be as difficult as it seems. Our Cycle Aigburth and Cycle Speke schemes are playing a really important part in our aims to get as many Liverpool people as possible to build cycling into their everyday lives, and this project is another great example of the innovative work we are doing to break down barriers to cycling."

The ‘Bike Buddies’ are all experienced cyclists with a good local knowledge and able to work out the most suitable route for the required journey. They will be able to assist with:-

►  selecting the most appropriate route

►  information on the local cycle network

►  tips on riding safely in traffic, in different environments and in different weather conditions

►  advice on equipment and accessories

►  advice on basic bike maintenance

The council has made teaming up with a Bike Buddy is as easy as possible. People simply need to contact the Cycle Aigburth team via telephoning them on:- 0151 233 5246 or at:- Claudia.stuerck@liverpool.gov.uk, after which they will be asked to complete a basic questionnaire detailing the journey they wish to make and their ability and confidence level. They will then be contacted by a buddy to discuss their requirements and arrange a time to meet for the journey.

Bike Buddies is aimed primarily at people wanting to start cycling to work. However, enquiries from people interested in cycling to other places are also welcomed. To get the best out of this service, cyclists should have a specific journey in mind, for example to the supermarket, health centre or a community venue.

Bike To Work officially hits the road with the first led commuter ride on Friday, 1 July 2011, from 8am, starting from Sefton Park and heading into the city centre.

You can also visit:- liverpool.gov.uk/cycleaigburth to find out about forthcoming city council cycling events and download a Cycle Aigburth guide, showing you great places to explore on 2 wheels, in and around Aigburth.

Father and son team pedal to raise money for hearts

ON Sunday, 3 July 2011, over 2,500 people will take to their bikes for the Liverpool Chester Liverpool Bike Ride. While some will be cycling for a personal challenge, and some will be cycling to be part of the atmosphere, Jezz Ellis and his father Brian will be cycling for a cause close to their hearts.  Last year Brian, a fit and healthy 74 year old, was taking part in the National Cycle Championships looking to retain his age group title when he suffered a heart attack and ended up in hospital.  Following heart surgery Brian started the recovery program with Wirral Heartbeat, an independent charity that supports the work carried out by the Wirral Heart Support Centre. "They were great. They got him exercising again and he was back riding his bike within eight months." said his son Jezz.  A year on and Brian is incredibly active and the father and son team have decided to take part in the Liverpool Chester Liverpool Bike Ride to raise vital funds for the centre.  "We both really wanted to do something to give back, it’s a charity mainly run on volunteers so every little bit helps."  The pair will be taking part in the 90 mile Challenge which will see them cycle through Delamere Forest before looping round and heading back to Liverpool.  "We’ve been training very hard for the ride. I come from a rugby background so I think I’m going to find it even harder than my dad! We’ve raised about £300 so far and we’re just so grateful to everyone that has donated." added Jezz.  To sponsor Jezz and Brian please visit:- justgiving.com/Jezz-Ellis, 100% of the money raised will go directly to Wirral Heartbeat.  For more information about the event and to enter online, go to:- liverpoolchesterliverpool.com.

Market traders sentenced for selling fake goods

2 brothers who sold fake trainers and clothes from market stalls in Liverpool. have been given suspended prison sentences.  Mustapha Hassan, aged 28, and Furgann Hassan, aged 20, of Clarendon Road Manchester, were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on 27 June 2011, to 8 months imprisonment , suspended for 12 months, after they pleaded guilty to 22 offences under the Trade Mark Act 1984. They were also ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.  The court heard that the fake goods were offered for sale over a 2 year period from December 2008 to December 2010 at the brothers’ sportswear stalls in St John’s Market and at the Heritage Market in Stanley Dock.  In December 2008 Trading Standards Officers visited St John’s Market as part of an anti-counterfeiting exercise in the run-up to Christmas. The officers found a quantity of trainers and sportswear hidden in a lock up used by Mustapha Hassan. The goods, which Mr Hassan admitted were his, were seized.  The stall was visited in June 2009 and again fake trainers and clothing were found and again Mustapha Hassan admitted the goods were his. Officers visited a stall also run by the Hassans on a further eight occasions, and seized counterfeit trainers and sportswear. On 2 of those occasions the brothers had already appeared in court charged with offering counterfeit goods for sale. In all a total approximate £25,000 of fake goods were seized. In sentencing, His Honour Judge Roberts said that an aggravating feature was that further offences were committed after the brothers had appeared in court and that they had over a long period turned a blind eye to whether goods were counterfeit or not.   Costs of £4,000 were awarded to the City Council. Forfeiture and destruction of the counterfeit goods was ordered. Cllr Tim Moore, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change said:- "This was a case in which traders persistently sold fake goods. Not only does this this sort of activity hurt customers who think they are buying the real thing but it also hits at legitimate traders. I am pleased that the courts have taken a hard line."  Ayun Wang, aged 47, an itinerant trader, was sentenced to 8 weeks imprisonment by Liverpool Magistrates on 27 June 2011, for selling counterfeit DVDs. The court heard he had been found selling fake goods on three occasions since 2007, but had failed to answer bail. He had a total of 767 counterfeit DVDs and 55 boxes of 200 counterfeit cigarettes.