Hire a bike for Ashton Court trails

A MOUNTAIN biking enthusiast from Nailsea has set up a new bike hire business in Ashton Court.

Sam Fowler, aged 27, has moved his bike coaching business Pedal Progression to the beauty spot which is now home to world class mountain bike trails.

Sam and fellow director Matt Legg-Bagg have 14 bikes they can hire out to cyclists and they also offer courses in how to handle the trails and workshops on bike repairs.

Sam, a former Nailsea School pupil, said: “People spend a lot of money on their bikes and then just go out into the woods and mountains and ride and they often have crashes.

“We show people how to control the bike and how to react to the trail by constantly moving and putting forces into the bike.

“It’s really satisfying when people come and hire bikes or get coaching and get more out of the sport or discover it for the first time.”

Sam worked in a bike shop in Bristol before he decided to set up Pedal Progression from his parents’ home in Nailsea.

He said: “I’ve been mountain biking all my life. I grew up riding round in Nailsea and the woods around there and Clevedon.

“If you haven’t got hundreds of pounds to spend on a bike, you can come and hire one and get a taster of what the sport is about.”

Sam and Matt have big plans for their business and by next year they want to stock bikes with child seats, bikes for disabled people, tandems and also run programmes for different community groups.

Pedal Progression is open from 10am-8pm from Wednesday-Friday and from 8am-6pm on Saturday and Sunday. To find out more about the business or to hire a bike visit www.pedalprogression.com