People are being urged to get on their bikes and make their city or town one of the next cycling towns.

The search is on for the next ten cycling towns and the first ever cycling city.

A staggering £47m is on offer and 60 local authorities have already expressed an interest.

The national drive to boost cycling kicked off today as Cycling England launches a competition to find the country's first cycling city and ten new cycling towns.

Cities and towns keen to revolutionise cycling in their areas have been invited by Phillip Darnton, chairman of Cycling England, to come forward with bids for a share of the £47m funding for the new demonstration areas.

The money forms part of the record £140m funding for cycling announced by Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, in January.

The 11 new towns and cities will join the existing six demonstration towns, which have pioneered local initiatives such as redesigning and building new cycle routes and training people to cycle safely.

These towns - which include Lancaster with Morecambe - have seen increases in the numbers of people cycling.

Mrs Kelly has also announced today that an extra £352,000 is being awarded to bring additional support to four of these towns.

She said: "The current demonstration towns have blazed a trail for the rest of the country to follow.

"I hope the first ever cycling city and the new towns will learn from previous successes as well as bring forward new ideas about how to take cycling in their areas to a new level, helping to tackle congestion and pollution and encouraging healthier lifestyles."

By 2012 the expanded network of cycling towns and city is expected to save 16million car journeys a year and create an extra 47million cycle journeys - equivalent to a seven percent increase in national cycling levels.

Mr Darnton said: "The search for the first cycling city and 10 new cycling towns is on and we expect the competition to be intense.

"The current towns have already achieved results beyond our expectations and proven that given the right facilities and support, more people are able to get on their bikes.

"Over 60 local authorities have already expressed an interest in becoming new demonstration towns and I look forward to seeing their ideas and initiatives to help get people cycling."

The deadline for applications is March 31 and Cycling England will announce the winning city in early June, along with at least five or six of the ten new towns.

Those areas will begin delivering their programmes in September 2008.

The next four to five towns will be announced in autumn 2008.