Saddle up for chance to win great bike prizes

It’s an opportunity to stress the advantages of outdoor activities against the background of Covid

South Lanarkshire Council has called for locals to get on their bikes this Christmas and win prizes in the process.

The authority this week announced their Winter Wheelers contest, which will run throughout December in conjunction with the Love to Ride group, and is aimed at encouraging people in South Lanarkshire to use their bikes during the winter.

The competition could see locals get a text on Christmas Day telling them they’ve won a new bike worth £1500, while just a single ten-minute ride earns an entry for daily prizes.

To take part participants need only register for free and log any bike rides undertaken between the start of December and Christmas Eve before 3pm the following day.

Among the prizes up for grabs are £100 vouchers for both Bike Town and Bike Barn, £50 vouchers for Roasted Strathaven, £20 vouchers for Carrigans, and a £25 voucher for Paesano that could be used as a reward for a day-trip into Glasgow.

There are also jackets from Proviz, gloves from Loffi, or a bike cave, which can be won every day.

The lucky Christmas Day winner of the bike will be drawn from everyone in the UK who has taken part over the previous 24 days. SLC leader, Councillor John

Ross, urged locals to enter the contest and said:“I have been regularly riding to the council headquarters for some time now and, as well as the benefits we know it has for the environment and the air that we all breathe, I have found a great improvement in my physical and mental wellbeing.

“The more people who can be encouraged to experience these sorts of benefits from cycling, the better, and ‘Winter Wheelers’is a brilliant way to remind people that, even on the darker and colder days of winter, once you get out there you forget your misgivings and realise you are enjoying yourself.”

He added: “The prizes on offer are amazing, too. I would urge as many people as possible to take part and they might even be the one waking up on Christmas Day to a text saying they have won a fantastic bike!”

Winter Wheelers is one of a wide range of active travel projects in which the council and its funding partners are investing more than £2.5million to try to help people in South Lanarkshire live healthier lives and benefit the environment.

Last year, more than 30,000 people across the UK took part in Winter Wheelers, including more than 2600 new riders.