AS the Guardian’s Pedal Power campaign gathers pace we hope to inspire more new cyclists into the saddle.

During the course of the campaign, we aim to bring our readers features, tips and hints about different types of cycling they can get involved with, whether its speeding along country lanes, cycling to the nearest tea room or tackling gravity-defy BMX stunts.

In this week’s edition we would like to introduce our first Pedal Power Ambassador, who helped inspire the campaign and who we hope will inspire others to enjoy cycling.

The Guardian’s chief reporter Gina Bebbington explains more...

SIGNING up to an organised challenge is the starting point for many enthusiasts, whether they decide to do a charity trek, fun run or a bike ride.

What can begin as a one-off to help a worthy cause can become a real passion for a lot of participants, and Hartford mum Claire O’Brien is no exception.

Claire agreed to embark on a Manchester to Blackpool ride in aid of Act4Africa in 2008 and soon became hooked.

She is now a Weaver Valley Cycling Club committee member and passionate about life on two wheels.

It was in conversation with Claire earlier this year, when we were chatting about cycling safety issues for a Guardian article, that the idea of the Pedal Power campaign first began to grow.

I thought it only fitting that Claire should be our first Pedal Power Ambassador and we met for a bike ride through the mid Cheshire countryside so I could find out more about how she started out.

She said: “I had a friend that was a director of the charity and she wanted to do a bike ride from Manchester to Blackpool in July 2008 so we started training in the January.

“My first bike was a second hand mountain bike from Tracks and we went out two or three times a week.”

But Claire soon realised that her mountain bike was inadequate to meet her target of completing the 60 miles in four hours, at an average speed of 15mph, so she invested in an entry level road bike just two weeks before the ride.

She bought her bike from Dave Hinde, in Manchester Road, and it was Dave that put her on to club cycling.

“He said ‘you want to join Weaver Valley Cycling Club’, gave me the number and introduced me to them and, of course, I’ve never looked back,” she said.

Once she joined the club she set herself another target of cycling from London to Paris, which she completed in July 2009, and a Coast to Coast ride, completed in May 2010.

She raised more than £4,600 with the three rides, and gained a hobby for life.

“You start off as a charity fun rider and, if you’re that way inclined, set yourself more goals, get more involved and develop even more skills,” she said.

“People can achieve more than they think they can – I’m not a sporty person so I’m a living example that anyone can do it if you’ve got an open mind and just try your best.

“I think it’s relaxing and a really good way to get fit or lose weight and it’s also something you can do with the rest of the family.”

Claire also said that despite the initial outlay to buy a bike, it worked out as a cheap hobby.

“I worked out that my first bike has cost me less than 10p a mile as I’ve done more than 8,000 miles on it,” she said.

“The average entry level road bike is about £700 but you don’t need another bike – it will last a lifetime.”

• If you’ve got a cycling story you want to share with the Pedal Power campaign, email Gina Bebbington at gbebbington@guardiangrp.co.uk.