The National Bike Challenge is on!

Our Community Forums General Discussion The National Bike Challenge is on!

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  • #911118
    KLizotte
    Participant

    Start your Pedals, America – The Get Up & Ride

    National Bike Challenge Is On!

    New online competition will engage and connect bicyclists from coast to coast.

    Washington, D.C. – March 21, 2012 – Launched today by a powerful alliance of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong and Endomondo, the National Bike Challenge aims to inspire and empower millions of Americans to ride their bikes for transportation, recreation and better health.

    The Challenge is simple: Sign up as an individual or as a team, log your miles, share your stories and encourage others to join you. Riders will compete for prizes and awards on the local and national level, including a Grand Prize trip through California wine country from Trek Travel. Already, organizations in 26 states have committed to participate and have started warming up for the May 1 start date on the Challenge website: nationalbikechallenge.org.

    “The League is excited about this unique opportunity to share the many benefits of bicycling and offer a fun, engaging entry point for new riders,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “There’s nothing like riding a bike with your friends and colleagues and the National Bike Challenge will create a new social network of cyclists stretching from coast to coast.”

    The online initiative was piloted by Kimberly-Clark (K-C), Endomondo and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin in 2011. The idea was sparked by K-C research engineer, Rob Gusky, and Kimberly-Clark extended the competition to its 57,000 global employees. The Challenge proved to be a great team building and wellness activity for K-C’s sustainability efforts globally. Participating K-C employees logged 357,739 miles globally, with U.S. employees pedaling 182,210 miles. The success in Wisconsin led to a bigger vision: Taking the challenge to the national level.

    “We’re pleased to be the national sponsor of the Challenge as it supports the wellness of our employees and the communities we serve, while contributing to improved air quality by replacing car travel with clean, healthy bicycle trips,” said Jan Spencer, K-C’s senior vice president of continuous improvement/procurement/ sustainability. “This year, K-C is providing an extra incentive for our global team members: The Kimberly-Clark Foundation will donate 10 cents to the League of American Bicyclists for every mile logged by a K-C employee during the 2012 Challenge.”

    The platform for the National Bike Challenge was created by Endomondo, a social fitness network with 7.5 million users worldwide. “Riding a bike for transportation is among the top five activities for our European users, and we look forward to helping expand this kind of biking in the U.S. with this campaign,” said Mette Lykke, Co-Founder of Endomondo. “Logging your miles is easy and the social interaction with co-workers, family and friends really makes it fun and motivating to get up and ride.”

    “Bikes Belong is delighted to be a part of the National Bike Challenge, which provides all the tools to help more people ride bikes more often,” said Bruno Maier, vice president of Bikes Belong. “We’re looking forward to seeing all the different types of riders who participate. The Challenge is a great way to encourage people to live healthier lives.”

    The Challenge runs from May 1 to August 31, 2012, but the public is invited to sign up now and get warmed up. For more information, visit http://www.nationalbikechallenge.org. Join us at facebook.com/nationalbikechallenge.

Viewing 15 replies - 46 through 60 (of 430 total)
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  • #939296
    pfunkallstar
    Participant

    All over B-team, I’ve always felt more comfortable on the B-team, mainly because the A-team is so hard to find.

    #939300
    Mikey
    Participant

    B team is now Full, and has moved up to 10th place.

    #939301
    eminva
    Participant

    @essigmw 18207 wrote:

    B team is now Full, and has moved up to 10th place.

    Time for a C-Team! Who will start it?

    Liz

    #939304
    JustinW
    Participant

    C Team is in place, just needs more teammates!

    #939306
    Greenbelt
    Participant

    I’ll be ready in May. I just replaced the battery on my computer and it defaulted to metric. I’m way faster now, and my distance per week has gone way up.

    #939307
    dbb
    Participant

    The local leaderboard shows BikeArlington teams is 1st, 2d and 3d. Huzzah!

    #939364
    americancyclo
    Participant

    just realized I’ll be away from a bike in May for six days! I’ll try to get some exercise on the boat!

    #939387
    consularrider
    Participant

    @americancyclo 18278 wrote:

    just realized I’ll be away from a bike in May for six days! I’ll try to get some exercise on the boat!

    Yeah, it’s looking like I’ll miss about ten days in May as well. I’m trying to find out if someone can arrange a bike for me, especially for the ciclopaseo on the Sunday.

    #939410
    eminva
    Participant

    Another team has pulled ahead of Bike Arlington A on the national leader board. And they only have seven members. Yikes!

    Also, a team calling themselves “Hungary” is nipping at our heels. I looked at their names, and even a workout by one of the team members, and they do appear to be IN HUNGARY. WTH? I thought it was the National Bike Challenge?

    Guess I really do need to bring my A game here . . .

    Liz

    #939445
    Dirt
    Participant

    Hungary is now in 2nd place. Glad it is only the pregame show.

    #939448
    Mikey
    Participant

    The Arlington B team is rising! Pretty soon we will pass the A-team.

    #939452
    pfunkallstar
    Participant

    @essigmw 18371 wrote:

    The Arlington B team is rising! Pretty soon we will pass the A-team.

    SHHHHHHHHHHHH……….it was a secret!

    #939464
    DaveK
    Participant

    @essigmw 18371 wrote:

    The Arlington B team is rising! Pretty soon we will pass the A-team.

    …and I have not yet begun to fight. :)

    #939467
    consularrider
    Participant

    @eminva 18329 wrote:

    Another team has pulled ahead of Bike Arlington A on the national leader board. And they only have seven members. Yikes!

    Also, a team calling themselves “Hungary” is nipping at our heels. I looked at their names, and even a workout by one of the team members, and they do appear to be IN HUNGARY. WTH? I thought it was the National Bike Challenge?

    Guess I really do need to bring my A game here . . .

    Liz

    They’ve skipped one of the basic requirements:

    “What is the Challenge?

    The Challenge is an exciting new program that encourages people to bike for transportation and recreation.

    It is open and free to anyone who lives in the U.S. or works for an organization with U.S. employees

    But hey, we’re got the Arlington Loopies in the Cascade Bicycle Club challenge.

    #939474
    eminva
    Participant

    @essigmw 18371 wrote:

    The Arlington B team is rising! Pretty soon we will pass the A-team.

    For the record, I’m all for healthy competition from The Arlington Bees or Cees (where are the cees, by the way?). But will do my best for the A’s.

    I also noticed I am five places behind Gary Fisher in the individual standings. THE Gary Fisher. How cool is that?

    Liz

Viewing 15 replies - 46 through 60 (of 430 total)
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