PARTICIPANTS in the health and fitness bicycle ‘Big Ride 2010’, scheduled for Sunday, are being asked to assemble at University of Guyana (UG) Road, Turkeyen, between 15:00 h and 16:30 h, to start riding from Carifesta Sports Complex, Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown at 17:00 h.
Organisers said yesterday that they are very satisfied with the level of interest shown in the event, the objective of which is to promote  physical exercise among Guyanese of all age groups, as a way of maintaining good health.
The exercise was planned through collaboration amongst the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; Ministry of Health and Guyana Cycling Federation, under the theme ‘Ride on; Live Long’.
It is the second such event, following one first staged last year as a component of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport programme ‘Fit for life.’
“We  want to use it to demonstrate the beneficial effects of physical exercise on  health; to get all Guyanese, young and old, to understand that they  must exercise if they want to live a productive, healthy  life,” Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony explained.
He said “We want to stress, this year, like we did last year, that Big Ride is not a race, not a competition. It is just a ride, with everyone riding at a relaxed pace until we reach the destination.”
The ride along that distance usually takes between 15 and 20 minutes.
The only requirements of members of the public who want to participate is that they must have a bicycle, be able to ride the distance, preferably without crashing, demonstrating and celebrating their physical fitness while, at the same time, promoting a lifestyle of exercise and its benefits.
With 1,000 cyclists expected to take part, Big Ride will culminate with a prize-giving ceremony at Carifesta Sports Complex, with participants being rewarded, by the sponsoring Ministry and the other collaborators, with trophies and other prizes for outstanding cyclists in various categories.
The awardees will include the village, organizations and the Government Ministry with the most riders, the best uniformed group and the largest youth group.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and other senior Government functionaries participated last year and are likely to be involved, again, this year.