ON YER BIKE! – if you want to lose weight, get fitter and have a fun time!

And if you don't actually have a bicycle that's not a problem, say staff and volunteers who run the cycling programme part of Get-Active-Bolton.

Ride leader Elaine Holstead said: "Come along and borrow one of ours."

Take your pick — two, three or four wheels, hand bikes, everything you can think of up to bikes than can fit a wheelchair on the front.

Elaine added: "Everybody had a bike when they were young, but most folk haven't ridden for years. This is their chance to have another go at it – and get a lot fitter and have a laugh with new friends."

The council's cycling programme offers something for everyone.

There are one-hour and two-hour rides on the traffic-free Middlebrook Trail on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, and a two-hour ride on Monday mornings.

All with an inviting cafe stop.

On Wednesday evenings there's a two-hour programme where wheelchair users can enjoy a safe spin around the athletics track at the Council's Leverhulme Park at Breightmet.

There's a second session on Thursday mornings.

Elaine said: "It's slowly taking off and it's really fun for people in wheelchairs. We are hoping a lot more will come along and join in."

If you have a couple of hours free on Thursday mornings and want to improve your fitness do try it. It's free. Swimming is probably the best exercise you can get but cycling runs it close.

Retired Bob Mullett who lives off Stitch-Mi-Lane, Harwood, struggled to walk very far.

He enjoys the council-supported hydrotherapy sessions at the Jubilee Pool at Brownlow Fold and on the Thursday mornings he and his wife Lyn take to the track together with as many as 50 folk of all ages including many service users who have a variety of disabilities and their carers.

He said: "Everyone gets huge enjoyment from these sessions. It really is a lot of fun and you can make it as challenging as you want. Many of us also benefit from getting fitter and healthier. Bolton Council has to be congratulated on its Get Active initiative."

Several volunteers help out at the sessions, most of them cyclists, and they repair and adjust over 40 different machines. "We'd really struggle without them," says Elaine.

More details from getactivebolton.co.uk.