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North West kids burn
10,000 donuts worth of calories during Big Pedal
OVER 2.4 million calories (the
equivalent of over 10,000 donuts) were burned during Sustrans 'Big Pedal;'
the UK's biggest challenge of its kind to get more young people cycling and
scooting to School, backed by double Olympic champion Joanna Rowsell Shand.
The 10 day challenge saw pupils, parents and staff leave the cars at home
with more than 1,000,000 journeys across the UK being made by bike or
scooter.
In the North West of England, 93 Schools registered to take part in 'The Big
Pedal,' which has been running since 2010.
Participants travelled over 133,000 miles by bike and scooter; that's over
5 trips around the world; and saved almost 33 tonnes, or over 2 million
balloons worth, of CO2 being emitted by cars.
With 3,396 gallons of fuel not being used on the School run, parents also
saved over ₤18,500 on petrol.
Rosslyn Colderley, Sustrans Director for the North of England said:- "We're delighted so many Schools took part in this year's 'Big Pedal,' which
demonstrates the change that can be achieved when people choose to cycle or
scoot instead of travelling by car. At 1.6 miles, the average Primary School
journey is a distance that can be walked, scooted or cycled as an easy way
of building more physical activity into our busy lives.
The numbers speak for themselves; travelling in this way makes a real
difference to our children's health, our environment and our pockets." Sustrans who are celebrating its 40th
Anniversary throughout 2017 asked YouGov to carried out a pole, that found
out that 9% of
the UK's parents say their children get the recommended 60 minutes of
physical activity a day.
According to Government guidelines, children and young people aged 5 to 18
need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day:- 'to maintain
a basic level of health.'
Walking, scooting or cycling to School would help children get their
recommended hour of physical activity a day and maintain a healthy weight.
Parents, however, have cited the need for improved infrastructure, such as
wider pavements and better crossings, and enhanced road safety among their
top priorities before allowing their child to walk, scoot or cycle to
School.
Sustrans is calling on Schools and Local Authorities in England to use the
money from a levy on soft drinks to help more children walk, scoot and cycle
the School journey.
The charity would like to see Governments elsewhere in the UK commit
additional funding from the soft drinks levy to support active travel.
'The Big Pedal,' which took place at the end of March 2017, was powered by national
walking and cycling charity Sustrans and funded by the Bicycle Association
on behalf of the cycle industry through its Bike Hub scheme.
For more information and a list of the overall winners click on
here.
For more
information about the charity's achievements over the last 4 decades
visit:-
Sustrans.Org.UK. |
