Cycling route to independence for Conwy's rural youngsters

Youngsters at a rural Conwy school will be inspired to cycle the daily school run with the arrival of a nationwide project.

Bike It, run by sustainable transport charity Sustrans, has doubled the number of children arriving by bike everyday at schools it is working in across the UK. The project - funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, Bike Hub and Conwy County Council - will launch at Ysgol Talhaiarn in Llanfair Talhaiarn on Friday (November 20). Children arriving on their bikes will be rewarded with a healthy breakfast before the start of lessons. During the school day Sustrans Bike It Officer Gwen Thomas will guide pupils through basic bike maintenance from pumping up tyres to tightening brakes, reflectors and saddles.

Sustrans Bike It Officer Gwen Thomas said: 'Cycling is a brilliant skill to help children develop their independence, and this is particularly true in rural areas. Many of these children live a 45 minute bike ride from their nearest train station and bus services are less frequent than in towns, so cycling will be really important as they enter their teenage years to get about without relying on lifts from their mum and dad. There are no children cycling to this school at the moment but I'm sure there is an appetite for it. There is less traffic congestion here than in towns and cities, and the more often we can encourage these children to cycle the more confident they will become.'

Dafydd Edwards, of Conwy County Borough Council, said: 'We fully support the Bike It project and are keen to see more pupils cycling to school. Some of our schools are benefiting from new cycle storage installations, and training to the new national standards - Bikeability - will be offered to pupils in all our primary schools in 2010.'

Further information about Sustrans and Bike It, including other news releases, is available through our website: www.sustrans.org.uk

NOTES

Sustrans is the UK's leading sustainable transport charity. Its vision is a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment. It is achieving this through innovative but practical solutions to the UK's transport challenges
Bike It is a nationwide scheme, managed by sustainable transport charity Sustrans, aiming to increase the number of young people cycling to school and on other journeys
Over the 2007/08 academic year there was a doubling of cycling levels in schools taking part in the Bike It programme
There are currently 57 Bike It Officers in post across England and Wales working in depth with 10 to 12 schools each
The project receives funding from Cycling England with the support of the Department for Transport, Bike Hub - the cycle industry levy, the Big Lottery Fund's Well-being Programme, the National Assembly for Wales, Transport for London and support from partner local authorities
Cycling England is the expert body set up by Government to promote cycling nationally. Further information about Cycling England can be found at www.cyclingengland.co.uk