On Thursday September 12th 2013, more than a million people from across the UK, including multiple gold medal winning Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey, will take part in the biggest-ever national ‘Cycle to Work Day’.
That’s the goal of C2W provider Cyclescheme, supported by British Cycling, Sustrans, Bicycle Association, Business in the Community and championed by Dame Sarah Storey. Cycle to Work Day is aiming to highlight the benefits of cycling as a means of transport and encourage more people to cycle, more often.
Cyclescheme said it wants to see an increase on the 760,000 people who now cycle to work regularly (up from 110,000 in 2001, according to Census data) with a long-term ambition of hitting one million regular cycle commuters by 2021.
Cyclescheme’s own research has shown that over 50% of commuting journeys are less than five miles – this makes most cycle commutes less than 30 minutes – a viable alternative to taking the car, bus or train to work for many. The NHS says that cycling can burn up to 650 calories an hour too, making cycling a great way to keep fit and get the recommended 150 minutes of exercise each week.
Dame Sarah Storey commented: “If we start by encouraging people to cycle to work, then they’ll feel healthier, will save money and be more inclined to ride their bikes for other journeys and leisure time too.
“Cycling is one of the best modes of transport for local journeys and Cyclescheme provides the means for people to obtain a bike in order to make those journeys to work. We hope to inspire even more people to challenge themselves, dust off the bike and cycle to work on the 12th September."
Director of Cyclescheme Daniel Gillborn added: “Cycle to Work Day is a very exciting initiative for us and it’s great to be able to work with some of the greatest names in the bike industry.
“We hope the day will inspire as many people as possible to make a positive change to their commuting habits and get more people cycling more often. Every mile cycled, every calorie burnt and every kilogram of CO2 offset as a result of the day will be a massive achievement that we can all be proud of.”
Worth a poster in the window of your bike shop? The poster below is downloadable from the Cyclescheme website.
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