Get On Your Bike!

Nationwide campaign urges kids to ditch computer games and get cycling

British kids would rather stay at home and play computer games than learn how to ride a bike, according to new research out today.

An astonishing one-in-three UK homes are now bike-free zones and three quarters (74%) of British parents agree that watching TV and playing computer games has now replaced learning to ride a bike as a childhood rite of passage. Parents admit they have also spent double on computer games and consoles during the last decade than they have on bikes or cycling equipment[c£250 against c£125 over typical 2year period].

According to the research by Kellogg’s Bran Flakes, while Dads are still the primary cycling teachers within families, over one in ten (13%) parents have never taught their kids how to cycle.

It appears the reason behind this decline in family cycling is because many parents don’t know where to go for safe cycling routes in their local area. Almost half of Britons [46%] describe where they live as ‘cycling unfriendly’ while the same amount [52%] agree that the provision of more, safer cycle paths would be the thing most likely to get their family pedalling together.

Coinciding with National Bike Week, Olympic gold winning cyclist Sir Chris Hoy is today launching the ‘Get On Your Bike’ campaign in association with Kellogg’s Bran Flakes, to encourage thousands of families across the UK to get back on their bikes this summer.

Sir Chris Hoy says, “Cycling is such an important skill for children to learn yet parents appear to be placing greater emphasis on computer games. Children need encouragement and support when learning to ride a bike but if parents aren’t interested then it’s never going to happen. It doesn’t bode well for the long-term future of British cycling if we’re having to go around the track on stabilizers!”

For 100s of safe cycle routes across the UK visit

www.getonyourbike.co.uk and type in your postcode.

Watch Sir Chris here

The names of the kids: Rohanna Finlay (4), Sir Chris Hoy and Hamsa Jamal (5).