Employees urged to get on their bikes

Swindon Council’s Active Swindon Cycle Challenge has been hugely successful since it was first launched in 2008, encouraging more people to cycle to and from work.

The Active Swindon Cycle Challenge is back again this year, and will run for four weeks throughout June.

The free challenge is open to cyclists of all abilities, so competitors who are giving cycling a try for the very first time are just as welcome as biking professionals.

Competitors can enter as part of their workplace team to compete against other workplaces in Swindon, or they can compete individually for the chance to win prizes throughout the challenge.

Prizes will be awarded by Swindon Council, and they include a Fairtrade food hamper, Cine-world cinema vouchers and a meal out for the winning team.

All journeys logged on the challenge website, www.activeswindonchallenge.org.uk, during June will be counted towards personal and team totals.

Competitors will be encouraged to invite as many of their family members, friends and colleagues as possible to hop on a bike for journeys to work, to the shops or round the park, logging their journeys as they go.

The trip logged can be as little as much as five minutes or as much as 10 hours – all trips on a bike will count.

There are already more than 50 organisations signed up to compete, and competition between professional rivals could mean that this year’s challenge sees a record number of trips cycled.

In 2010, 48,302 miles were logged during the challenge across 3,821 trips.

Challenge Co-ordinator Fiona Jenkins said: “The challenge is a really fun way to get people cycling, making trips that they might not normally do by bike.

“Competing as part of a team will mean that there is a great buzz in the workplace as the competitive spirit really comes to the fore.”

Workplaces and individuals are encouraged to start signing up at www.activeswindonchallenge.org.uk now in plenty of time for the start of the challenge on June 1.