Cyclists have set the wheels in motion to encourage more people to ride to work.

The CTC, the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation, has teamed up with social marketing agency Challenge For Change to launch the Southampton Cycle Challenge.

As the Daily Echo continues its Don’t be a Fuel Fool campaign, a group of cyclists took to the city’s streets in ‘work clothes’ fancy dress, to kick off the three-week challenge which has been designed to find which Southampton workplace can get the most members of staff cycling to work.

The Southampton City Council-backed scheme will run until Sunday May 29 with regular ‘try bike’ sessions and free ‘bike doctor’ check-ups running at venues across the city.

The scheme will be rolled out across the country later in the year, with similar events scheduled for Milton Keynes, Oxford and Cambridge.

Thea Bjaaland, from Sustrans, the sustainable transport group that is also involved with the scheme, said: “We want existing cyclists to get their colleagues on board and give cycling a go.

“There are so many reasons to try it. There’s the health benefits, environmental reasons, you can save money, reduce congestion, reduce pollution – the list goes on really.

“And with the lovely weather that we’ve been having, people really don’t have an excuse to at least try it!”

For more information on the challenge visit southamptoncyclechallenge.org.uk.