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As part of the Big Bike Bonanza - an event organised by North Yorkshire County Council to promote sustainable travel to school - more than 600 Catterick pupils plus their families are gearing up to beat the school-run traffic and reduce local air pollution in the town by leaving the car at home and opting for pedal power.

Five schools are taking part in the initiative - Le Cateau, Carnagill, Hipswell, and Wavell Junior & Infant Schools.

Cyclists are rewarded with bacon butties, (or a healthy alternative), and everybody on a bike gets a free raffle ticket. That includes brothers, sisters, mums, grandads, etc, therefore the more people each child can encourage to cycle with them, the better their chances of winning. There are runner-up prizes and four brand new bikes to be won.

Pupils later tour the Garrison, stopping off at each others' schools by using the network of cycle-paths. And there is more fun to be had at each school along the way, as North Yorkshire County Council staff will be conducting cycling-themed lessons throughout the day, such as 'design your dream bike', road safety skills, mapping, music, poetry and even foreign languages.

Three of the schools taking part are building new bike sheds as part of their 'School Travel Plan' ? a document produced by the County Council and the school, outlining how schools will promote walking, cycling and bus use, thus supporting the aims of the Council's Local Transport Plan.

All county schools in North Yorkshire now have a School Travel Plan, and as a result schools have been awarded a total of over ?2 million in government grants to promote sustainable travel.

County Councillor Carl Les, the County Council's executive member for corporate services, said:

?The Big Bike Bonanza is a fantastic initiative. Leaving the car at home and cycling to school is a great way to help the environment, improve your fitness and ease traffic congestion at peak times.

?The County Council wants to encourage as many young people as possible to cycle or walk to school. But we realise that this isn't always practical. In these cases, we encourage parents to park five minutes away from the school and walk or cycle the remainder.?

County Councillor Melva Steckles, elected member for Central Richmondshire, said:

?It is very gratifying to see young people and their families embracing the cycling message in this way.

?Not only will they be saving the equivalent of over 50,000 balloons of CO2, but they will be having a lot of fun along the way.?

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