London’s Cycle Hire scheme, Santander Cycles, is supporting Movember by fitting 1,000 bikes with eighteen inch wide moustaches.

Movember raises money to fund projects designed to improve the state of men’s health, and Santander will donate £1 to the foundation for every picture of the bushy bikes shared with #MoCycle on Twitter or Instagram.

In addition, 200 super special bicycles will sport gold whiskers, and pictures featuring these will earn a bumper donation of £3.

There will be some spot prizes for Tweeters and Instagrammers sharing #MoCycle pictures and working with Santander, Movember hope to drill home the message of their new 30 MOVE in 30 days initiative – all about encouraging men and women to MOVE more in November.

The Movember Foundation put a focus on men’s health, stating that men on average die six years earlier than women,  and that three quarters of suicide cases are male.

Though we’re not men ourselves of course we care about our fathers, partners, brothers and freinds. As well as tackling inactivity and mental health through funding, the Movember Foundation also support charities that provide awareness, support and research for prostate and testicular cancer.

The bikes are traditionally called Boris Bikes, after Mayor Boris Johnson who introduced them in 2010. He said: “It’s fantastic to see some of our Santander Cycles following the example of millions of men around the world by sprouting a Mo for Movember. I am sure Londoners will hunt high and low to get hold of one of these bikes, and help raise money for this great cause.”

Laura Mair for Movember says: “This is a fantastic initiative which really brings to life what we are trying to achieve with our MOVE challenge and we are very grateful to Santander and TfL for their support.  Being active is one of the best things you can do for your health, and building even just a short cycle ride into your daily activity will help.  We hope that seeing a Santander Cycle with a Mo will prompt people to think what activity they could add to their day, and of course, to share on social media to raise funds.”

For more information on the MoCycles or to see some of the pictures people have shared, go online at Santander.co.uk/Cycles.