Cowbell holds bicycle tour

City and Town planners have been called upon to consider creating bicycle lanes on the roads to make it safer for bicycle riders to use the roads.

Mr Joe Aggrey, Deputy Minister for Youth, Education and Sports made the call at the end of the maiden Cowbell Bicycle Tour held in Accra on Saturday.

The 17-kilometre non-competitive ride which started from the Independence Square in Accra to Korle Bu, through Nkrumah Circle, Rawlings Park, Adabraka through Cedi House and back to the Independence Square was aimed at promoting exercise for fitness and good health for all, educating motorists on the rights of cyclists as road users.

It was also to promote cycling as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective means of transport and also encourage local tourism by helping participants to discover other parts of the capital city through bicycle riding.

Mr Aggrey said cycling is a very useful human activity and it is both a sport and a means of transport.

He expressed the hope that the event ,will grow ,to become a major annual ,sporting event to serve as a vehicle for popularising bicycle riding in the country.

Mr Dirk Laeremans, Managing Director of Promasidor Ghana Limited, which organised the event in association with Institute for Transportation and Development, said he was h happy about the turn out for the event and he was hopeful that ,next year the his ,company will do it again.

About 2,000 cyclists took part in the event.