When I arranged to meet George Ewing to hear about a new cycling scheme for Caithness, I thought he might turn up in Lycra on a state-of-the-art racing machine. Instead he was in a smart but casual outfit, including an understated Cycling UK polo shirt, and was in charge of a dinky black contraption that looked at first glance like a kind of scaled-down Hansom cab attached to a three-wheeler.

This was in fact a cargo bike, complete with a removable shell with plastic windows on each side; the cargo in question could potentially be anything from grocery shopping to a couple of kids safely strapped in with seatbelts. The bike is easy to operate, as George went on to demonstrate, and it can become battery-assisted at the flick of a switch while always maintaining a gentle pace.

In terms of pedal power, it's about as far away as it is possible to get from the competitive cycling scene in which George himself has been involved for many years. But that's the whole point of the newly launched Rural Connections project. It's not about achieving fast times or breaking records – it's simply about using a bike for short trips, or indeed going on foot, as opposed to driving.

The project is aimed at people of all ages and abilities. The idea is that, once they have a bike they are comfortable with, they will find it a practical, sustainable, environmentally friendly, healthy and enjoyable way to get from place to place on everyday journeys.

George recently took up the role of development officer with Cycling UK and will lead the charity's Rural Connections activity in Caithness.

The county is one of seven areas covered by the project, the others being in Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles, Moray, Argyll and Bute and the Scottish Borders. The development officers are funded by Smarter Choices, Smarter Places.

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“The Rural Connections project is basically trying to promote walking, wheeling and cycling," George told me as we sat in the sunshine above Staxigoe harbour. "The emphasis is really on trying to get people to change their attitudes in respect of using a bike for short, wee journeys – basically use the bike instead of the car for going for your daily shopping.

"But if you're walking, it's just as good – one of the goals of the project is about walking too.

“If people are unsure how to use a bike then we're willing to help them learn. It may be that you've never been on a bike for 30 or 40 years so we will do one-to-one lessons. We'll try to help with that as much as we can and we'll also try to help with building people's confidence.

“If they want to do group rides then we'll try to assist with setting up a small community cycling group. But it doesn't necessarily have to be a cycling group – it could be additional walking groups in the community that we could try to set up in smaller rural areas.

“And it's not all about just the more built-up areas – it's about getting as much as we can within the rural community of Caithness.”

A key element of the project will be the offer of short-term and long-term cycle loans to help people find a suitable bike.

“We'll have bikes available to loan to people on a short-term or long-term basis, and obviously there is an application process for that because we've got to keep track of them," George explained. "It's basically to give that person an idea of whether or not they think a bike is for them.

“We're trying to make the supply of bikes suitable for as many people as possible. We don't want it to be just for able-bodied persons that can easily get on a bike, so we're looking into maybe trying to purchase tricycles.

"We're looking at cargo bikes and adaptive bikes that an older person could potentially use. We'll also be looking to promote the use of electric bikes a bit more.”

The intention is to be "as inclusive as possible" and encourage whole families to get pedalling.

“We're looking at not only cycling being an individual thing but it could be a family event using cargo bikes or having a bike each," George pointed out. "You could have your granny and grandad with you as well if you've got the appropriate bike.

“We're trying to make it as inclusive as possible to catch a potentially big audience. We're even looking at trying to purchase tandems – so maybe if you've got somebody that's hard of hearing and wouldn't feel safe on a bike, or somebody that's blind or partially sighted, they could be sitting on the back and have somebody take them out and about.

“One of the main aims is trying to get people to use it as an alternative to their cars every now and then. Even if everybody did it once a week, or once a month, it could make a huge difference to their health and to the environment as well."

Businesses might wish to look at the benefits of cycling for deliveries in the local area – harking back to the "message boys" of previous generations.

George, who will be 55 next month, has been a keen cyclist for almost as long as he can remember. “I think I was 10 or 11 when I started building bikes," he said. "I've always been into that.”

A retired police sergeant, he is a member of Wick Wheelers and Wick Triathlon Club. He is well aware of concerns over the extent of potholes on many of the county's roads but is optimistic that improvements will come: “I admit our roads are not fantastic at the moment but hopefully things are going to get better.”

In the meantime he would be glad to hear from anyone wishing to find out more, as well as from volunteers willing to help

"We're also going to be looking for potential volunteers, so if anybody is interested in wanting to become maybe a cycle ride leader then we need to gather some interest, get the relevant numbers, and Cycling UK will supply the training for that," George said.

"If we do manage to get cycling groups it's not going to be 20 or 30 people at once – it's going to be a very manageable number and a safe number on the road."

• George Ewing can be contacted on 07341 792374 or email george.ewing@cyclinguk.org

• There is a Facebook page at CyclingUKScotland

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