Top 10 cycle cartoons to watch with children

Children’s cartoons make everyday adventures magical — and that includes cycling! But representation matters too, especially when you consider that 25% of children don’t have access have to their own cycle (but 90% of British homes have at least one TV).

At Bikeability, we’re passionate about the impact that positive cycling role models can have on children’s confidence and inspiring safe, active travel. In honour of our latest report, Hey Cycle! Representations of Cycling on Children’s TV, we’ve rounded up 10 of our favourite cycle cartoon episodes to help inspire your next adventure!

Sarah & Duck

Sarah and Duck came out top in our research; it’s one of the few shows for 0–5s that features a human cycling rather than an animal. There are multiple episodes with cycling at the heart of the story, plus there are frequent depictions of active travel – with regular cycling, walking and scooting. There’s even a whole episode on tyre safety (with a sentient pump, obviously), and depictions of well-designed cycling infrastructure.

There are four Sarah and Duck episodes based around cycling to enjoy at home:

• Perimeter Pals – Sarah, Duck and Bug set off on a big adventure through uncharted territory as they attempt to cycle all the way around the park.
• Puncture Pump – When their tandem bike gets a flat tyre, Sarah and Duck hope to get help from the local bike shop.
• Bread Bike – When Bread Man needs help, Sarah and Duck come to the rescue with their tandem bike!
• Scooter Stand Still – Scooter Boy gets his confidence knocked after a small accident, so Sarah and Duck help him to get it back.

Phineas and Ferb – Tour de Ferb

We love the way that cycling is seamlessly embedded into many Phineas and Ferb episodes. Set in an ‘endless summer’, you’ll often see characters riding cycles in the background! Standout mention goes to Series 3’s ‘Tour de Ferb’, where Phineas and Ferb enlist real-life American cyclist Greg LeMond to help their friend Baljeet compete in a bicycle race.

Bluey – Bike

We love the inspirational message in the episode ‘Bike’: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again. It’s also great to see Bluey on her cycle in the next episode. If we’re going to be picky, we’d love to see the whole family cycling together more instead of jumping in the car.

Hey Duggee – The Difficult Badge

Hippopotamus Roly rides tandem in the opening credits of Hey Duggee, guaranteeing active travel in every episode. This Series 4 episode features the Squirrels appreciating Norrie’s new bike, but they discover that she doesn’t know how to ride it yet! We appreciate the representation, but wish the episode had a slightly more positive title. On the plus side, 20% of Squirrel Club cycle there, versus the 2% of children who cycle to school IRL.

Peppa Pig – The Cycle Ride

This episode from Series 2 sees Peppa and her whole family enjoying a cycle ride. There’s nice representation of different types of cycle too – Peppa rides a bicycle, her brother George has a tricycle, and Mummy and Daddy pig enjoy cycling on a tandem!

There’s actually more than one cycling episode in Peppa Pig– ‘Bicycles’ focuses on Peppa riding with her brother and friends, however overall this represents 0.5% cycling across the whole show…

SpongeBob SquarePants – Ride Patrick Ride

SpongeBob SquarePants crams in a LOT of cycling for a series set entirely underwater. Featuring bicycles, unicycles and Squidward’s recumbent cycle, there’s an excellent range of positive representation too.

We’ve highlighted the episode ‘Ride Patrick Ride’ from Series 13, which shows SpongeBob teaching best friend Patrick how to ride a bike.

Paw Patrol – Pups Save the Bike Race

This Series 12 episode sees the pups working hard to keep everyone safe during Adventure Bay’s big bike race. While it’s great to see representation on screen, cycles are rarely the hero in Paw Patrol – instead, they’re there to be rescued. In one episode, it takes an ATV, snowmobile, police truck and hovercraft to avert a cycle disaster!

We hope you enjoyed our roundup of some of the best cycling cartoons to watch at home, it’s so important to us to see positive representations of children cycling on screen. Above all, cycling should be fun! If these episodes inspire you, why not start your own cycling adventure with Bikeability? Find your nearest course here.

And don’t forget — Cycle to School Week runs 13–17 October. Make your pledge today and be part of the UK’s biggest celebration of pedal power.