PEOPLE are being urged to get on a bike this month for the Oxford Cycle Challenge, as part of a national campaign to get rusty cyclists back in the saddle and to encourage occasional pedallers to make extra journeys on two wheels.

And a competitive element has been added to the challenge, with a three-week competition between Oxford and Cambridge to see which city can sign up the most new cyclists.

Companies and individuals can register on the initiative’s website and log their bike rides and indicate if they have signed up a lapsed cyclist.

Everyone who registers stands a chance of winning cinema tickets. Other incentives on offer include a £700 bike and festival tickets.

Organiser Dan Harris, of the Oxford Cycle Workshop, said: “We want people to remember how great it is to ride a bike or remind themselves that they still can ride their bikes, even if it has been years since they last did it. It’s all about enjoyment and we are super lucky that Oxford is a very nice place to ride.

“I’d much rather cycle here than somewhere like London where there is lots of traffic and people don’t expect cyclists to come round the corner.

“Wherever you are in Oxford you won’t be alone if you pull up at a junction on a bicycle.”

Mr Harris added: “We really want to give people the things that are useful, so if they’ve got a bike at the back of their garage with a flat tyre that is no longer an excuse because we will repair punctures and make sure bikes are generally roadworthy.”

The website has a counter to record how many people have signed up and how many of them have not cycled in more than a year.

For details of events taking place during the campaign, visit oxfordcycle challenge.org.uk