A GROUP of cyclists rode from Dover to Dursley on Pedersen bicycles to commemorate the 120th anniversary of their invention.

Fourteen riders from Germany, Holland and Austria arrived in Dursley on Thursday, September 19 after cycling through Tenterden, Uckfield, Midhurst, Winchester, Salisbury and Melksham.

Mikael Pedersen’s bicycles were first made in Dursey in 1893 and were produced in the town for a further 20 years.

Their tour of Dursley began at Lister Shearing Ltd, which came into being 105 years ago using skills of workers formerly employed in making the two and three speed cycle gears invented by Pedersen.

Engineers at R.A.Lister and Co Ltd went on to make Pedersen's bicycles until the start of World War One. Makers in England, Denmark and Germany are now once again producing Pedersen frames using modern techniques and with up-to-date accessories.

Riders then stopped by other key places associated with the Danish inventor. They stopped by Raglan house, where he lived, his cycle factory in Water Street and the grave of his daughter in St Mark's Churchyard.

They poignantly visited the site in Dursley Cemetery where Pedersen’s bones were reinterred in 1995 having been brought from Denmark.
 

In the afternoon the riders attended a reception in Dursley Town Hall given by mayor Cllr Jane Ball, each receiving certificates of welcome and a souvenir mug specially made for the event.

On Saturday the group cycled along the canal towpath to Gloucester to visit the town’s Folk Museum, which has a collection of original Pedersen cycles.

Makers in England, Denmark and Germany still produce the hammock-saddled bicycle design using modern techniques and accessories.

After tracing Pedersen’s roots around Gloucestershire, the cyclists returned home by coach on Sunday.

Pictures by Andrew Barton