Granny Biffin, by a country mile Bronickle End’s oldest and wisest indigenous remnant, has come up with a “wheely” good idea to bolster a bold campaign to save what’s left of her native county’s rural soul.

She has offered to help organise what she calls The Great Norfolk Bike-Off to raise awareness of how much countryside in all parts is being sacrificed in the name of blatant greed dressed up as a sorely-needed economic revival.

“We want our precious patch to be respected more for the right reasons, not perpetually exploited for all the wrong ones” says this affable and energetic sage fond of calling herself a recycled teenager.

An invitation is going out to local councillors and officers at all levels - parish, district and county - to form small contingents of volunteers to weigh up what’s going on in their own corners of Norfolk within comfortable biking distance. Members of parliament can pedal along to find out more about their constituencies if time allows.

Findings can be pooled at the end of this homely missionary work at a specially-convened gathering of cycling ambassadors on a village green big enough to cope with an expected multitude of "care in our community" enthusiasts full of determination and enduring respect for a precious heritage.

Of course, this exercise could well be a journey of complete discovery for comparative newcomers to the local government cause while hardened veterans who can make telling comparisons will be hard pushed to avoid verdicts of mere confirmation of what they sadly expected to find. Lack of red tape and oppressive officialdom ought to encourage a refreshing brand of honesty.

To help that virtue along, all participants are being instructed not to accept any items along the way from supporters or onlookers that could be construed as “bribes or sweeteners” - such as free pints at the local pub, a new saddlebag or seat from cycle manufacturers or seats in the dugout at local derby football matches.

Granny Biffin has long been quick to point out how big a role the humble bike played in the social and working lives of countless country folk throughout much of the 20th century. Fresh air and exercise went with pushing, pedalling, puffing and posing on country roads comparatively free of heavy traffic.

It was also an integral part of the “bush telegraph” system of catching up with all latest gossip from your own parish and a few close neighbours, a homely version of today’s click-and-prattle social media. It was remarkable how far some juicy rumours could travel and be embellished inside a matter of hours!

It remains to be seen if that sort of amiable bonhomie can flourish again as The Great Norfolk Bike-Off entrants bid to avoid bottleneck routes, rush-hour chaos, potholes and timeless roadworks on their gentle jaunts in search of green and pleasant remnants.

There are bound to be crops of darker reflections along the way concerning the hideous amount of farmland likely to be commandeered for Energy Secretary Ed Milliband’s sinister plan to earn “rising star” status in a plundering government by forming a new solar system down here on Mother Earth.

We must hope for a strong resistance movement among our farmers who still believe they can be true custodians of our countryside. Who knows, we may yet see a farmer on a bike … or even astride a high horse of protest at the way generations of proud family graft and production can be wiped out at a cruel stroke.

There remain celebrated environmental havens where hedges, trees, fertile furrows and long-term pastures still flourish. However, even these are in danger while bulldozers of excessive development charge on at the behest of short-sighted politicians and compliant councillors, planners and landowners great and small.

It all points to many miles of revealing just how many Norfolk residents still believer a fragile ecological fabric remains more precious than any short-term economic gain. I hope sincerely local council decision makers from village meeting places to County Hall, and some of those who advise them. can reward Granny Biffin’s initiative by hitting the saddle to take seriously what they see and hear.

Norfolk’s rural resistance crusaders have already warned how eye-watering mandatory housebuilding figures coated in a construction-friendly planning system has encouraged fresh gangs of speculators and spoilers to treat the county as a soft touch.

Granny Biffin sets a timely example of how to do something fresh and daring in the face of what many treat as inevitable in these rum ole times. Go on, give her campaign a hefty push and get on yer bike!