THE 200th anniversary of the invention of the bicycle and the life of world ultra-endurance cycling champion Mike Hall will be remembered at a Mid Wales cycle festival next month.

Llandrindod Wells Cycle Festival, which runs from July 14-16, has been loaned the film ‘Inspired to Ride’ by Hall’s widow, Anna, to show in the main marquee at The Lake, Llandrindod Wells over the weekend.

The film, which features Hall, follows a handful of cyclists as they race unsupported in the inaugural year of the Trans Am Bike Race across America.

Hall, who specialised in self-supported ultra-distance cycling routes, was killed when struck by a car near Canberra on March 31 this year while competing in the inaugural Indian Pacific Wheel Race.

He had moved to live in Mid Wales shortly before he died. In 2012, he won the inaugural World Cycle Race. In 2013 and 2016, he won the Tour Divide ultra-endurance mountain bike race across the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the United States. While in 2014, he won the inaugural Trans Am Bike Race from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast in the USA.

From 2013, he was the principal organiser of the Transcontinental Race, which traverses Europe.

In addition to showing the film, the festival will also celebrate the 200th anniversary of the invention of the bicycle in Germany in 1817 by encouraging new and experienced cyclists to get on the saddle.

There will be a bike stunt show on Saturday by Inspire Shows who will also include coaching and Cycle Training Wales will provide a Shoretrax activity session on Sunday.

The more experienced cyclists will be challenged by John Lloyd Cross Country Challenge and the Festival Sportive, both organised by John Lloyd Racing Events and Daisy Chain Bike Events with a choice of distances – 24, 39 and 65 miles.

The Veteran Cycle Club’s Hereford section is organising a relaxed ride from Llandrindod Lake to the Elan Valley. Drover Cycles will be staging a dual slalom on the Lower Common on Saturday for all ages and skills while there will also be five-mile sportive for all the family.

Local schools and families are being challenged to join together to pedal a cumulative 1,220 miles, which represents the distance between Llandrindod Wells and French twin town Contrexeville. Cyclists will pedal around a one mile circuit over the weekend in quest of the target.

Llandrindod Wells is the perfect place to host the festival as the spa town is home to the National Cycle Museum, which will be open over the weekend. The museum is home to more than 260 cycles ranging from a 1816 Hobby Horse and Victorian solid-tyred machines to classic lightweights and the latest carbon-fibre designs.

One of the world’s leading cycle museums, it is run by an independent charitable trust to promote interest in all aspects of cycling history. Group and school visits are encouraged to visit the museum, which opened in 1997 and is manned completely by volunteers, one of whom is joint curator Freda Davies.

She said the summer opening hours, which are restricted to Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 4pm, would be increased if more volunteers were found. Running costs amount to £25,000 annually which are covered by entrance fees, donations and fundraising.

“We have some very rare bicycles on display, some of which you would struggle to find elsewhere in the UK,” added Freda. “We rely on the generosity of our visitors and supporters to finance the work of the museum, including new collections and outreach projects.”

Located in the Automobile Palace building, the museum housed the private cycle collections of Tom Norton and David Higman, curator from 1997-2010, until 2014 when the Norton collection was returned to his family.

In 1998, the National Cycle Museum in Lincoln closed and its cycles and charitable status moved across to Llandrindod Wells. Everything from cycle clothing to the latest racing bikes is covered in the museum, which is a member of MWT Cymru, an organisation representing around 600 tourism and hospitality businesses in Mid Wales.

For more information about the cycle festival and museum visit http://www.llandodcyclefest.org.uk/ or http://www.cyclemuseum.org.uk.