"GET on your bike", that famous advice from Norman Tebbitt to encourage people to find work, has, I believe, a place in our society today - but for different reasons.

In my school days, in war-time, many students cycled to school, where a large bicycle shed was provided. This sort of regular exercise improved their fitness - physically and mentally - saved transport costs, and also helped them to arrive more alert and ready for their studies.

The present, almost non-existent, use of cycle lanes does not justify their expense though it would be a good idea to make more use of these facilities not only for the above reasons, but it might also diminish the public perception of them as "white elephants".

Students today are much less fit than in my day when, in addition to cycling, we had football, cricket and weekly gymnastics. I also believe that our war-time diet was far healthier than that favoured by scholars who are additionally disadvantaged by the attraction of TV and computers which have replaced regular evening outdoor activities.

DEREK RYDER,

Ainsworth Road, Bury

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.