Cycleway named after Simon Brooke
A SPENCERS WOOD resident’s life and contribution to his community was honoured at a ceremony on Saturday, September 4.
Simon Brooke Cycleway was formally unveiled, named after the former owner of Rotec cycle shop in School Green, who died in 2018, at the age of 39.
The route is located off Church Lane, running parallel to Hayes Drive. According to Simon’s father, Alan, it is the first cycleway in the area to be named after a resident.
He said: “The response has been amazing - the number of people, all sorts of people, have been in touch sharing positive memories about Simon on social media.
“We didn’t realise how many people he had an impact on until he passed. It’s a tad unusual to be that popular. I had people coming up to me recognising me as Simon’s dad.
“He went above and beyond for his customers, often making adjustments for children and bike owners with disabilities.”
According to Alan, there had been talk of a cycleway being named after his son for a while.
Thanks to the work of Shinfield Parish’s Ian Young, Wokingham Borough Council agreed to name the cycleway in honour of Simon and his contribution to cycling in the area.
Tributes came flooding in on social media, with residents sharing fond memories of their experiences with the bike shop owner of 20 years.
Many spoke of his kind nature and willingness to make members of the community feel welcome.
Alan reminisced about the times his son would come back late from work after staying past closing time to have a chat with someone he knew.
Born in Cheshire, Simon moved to Wokingham at the age of four. He was an avid cyclist and driver who had a shared passion for making and mending things with his father, who is an engineer.
After completing an apprenticeship, he decided to do things himself, setting up his own shop at just 19-years-old.
Despite leading a busy life,
Simon also found time to climb Ben Nevis. He talked to his father about possibly relocating to Wales to set up a cycling business alongside a bed and breakfast.
Simon was cycling in the woods at night four years ago, when he experienced undiagnosed heart issues and died as a result.