Mr Wettenhall said today's ride was a wonderful part of the school's participation in National Bike Week (March 13-21), which began last Saturday.

"This school has a Bike Bus event each week, where students collectively ride to and from school on their bikes," Mr Wettenhall said.

"It's excellent exercise for them, but even more importantly it teaches them the advantages of using sustainable transport in their daily lives. Hopefully, that message will stay with them through their lives, and maybe they can teach their parents to reduce their reliance on private cars for transport."

Mr Wettenhall said Bike Week was about promoting the advantages of bicycle travel to all age groups. More people riding bikes means less cars on Cairns roads, less congestion and less harmful exhaust emissions.

"The State Government is working with local councils throughout Queensland to expand networks of safe cycling routes that separate cyclists from motorists and link schools and other major attractions, like entertainment and sporting venues and shopping centres.

"Sales of bicycles in Queensland now outnumber sales of cars, and as the government provides more and more infrastructure bike riding will increasingly become more popular. That is a good thing for Queensland," Mr Wettenhall said.