Around 3.5 million bikes are sold in the UK each year

- Cycle to live longer
- Saddle up for the environment

Given the clear benefits to the environment and health, it is surprising how relatively few people regularly cycle.

There are around 38 bikes per 100 people in the UK, a figure that has risen from 29 per 100 a decade ago and sales are relatively strong at around 3.5 million a year, but the 2002 General Household Survey found that only 19 per cent of adults had cycled in the previous 12 months and just nine per cent in the previous four weeks.

The survey showed that males between 16 and 19 were the keenest cyclists (25 per cent) and that in all age groups men cycle twice as often as women and they ride farther.

Compared with other forms of exercise the most recent government survey found (recreational) cycling to be fourth most popular with 3.2 million regular participants, behind gym, swimming and walking.

There has, however, been a definite upsurge in cycling for commuting.

The combination of the congestion charge and the threat of terrorism has seen bicycle commuting in the London area rise by 83 per cent since 2000, with almost half a million bike journeys made every day, according to the latest Transport for London research.

Another notable cycling success is the city of York where 22 per cent of work-related trips are made by bicycle on one of the largest cycle-specific networks in Europe.

And - just like in London - the area has witnessed a significant fall in cycling casualties, as Jacobsen's Growth Rule predicts.

So, there are many reasons for getting out the bike you almost certainly have stored somewhere (taking it for a quick check-up!) and pedalling away.

After all, the average Brit spends nine days a year in his or her car, often stuck in the worst congestion in Europe and probably just getting fatter.

Cycling benefits you, the kids and the environment. A 2003 Australian study also found it is less dangerous than gardening!