CycleHero, taking place this week, aims to encourage people onto their bikes to tackle climate change. From short beginner rides to longer off-road epics, there’s something for everyone who wishes to take part. Organised rides can be found on the cyclehero.com website.

Inspiration for this project has come from a 60-second commercial that is currently airing in cinemas across the UK. The film tells the story of a cycling pied piper, who gathers cyclists as she makes her way from a polluted and gridlocked city into the open spaces of the countryside. The CycleHero film can also be viewed at www.cyclehero.com.

CycleHero Week organiser, Adrian Dent, said: “It’s easy for anybody to become a Cycle Hero – if more people left their car in the garage and grabbed a bike from the shed, we’d be well on our way to tackling climate change.”

CTC, the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation, believes that cycling is a realistic way of helping to tackle climate change. More than 4 million people currently use their cars to drive less than 3 miles to work – the same commute undertaken by bicycle would take an average person 20 minutes and the amount of CO2 a couple would save over the course of a year is equivalent to the weight of a small car.

Visitors to www.cyclehero.com also have the chance to enter a competition to win a £1500 Specialized mountain bike.