(Photo: BTA)
If you’ve noticed that the roads are a bit more full of bikes than usual, it’s because the BTA’s Bike Commute Challenge is underway. The month-long event is in its 16th year and if last year’s record-breaking participation is any indicator, there are likely to be several thousand brand new bike commuters on the roads.
The Challenge is a friendly competition between workplaces to see who can log the most trips by bike. There are over 1,100 teams and nearly 8,000 individuals currently logging trips on the BikeCommuteChallenge.com website. Once logged in, you can log your trips and even set up head-to-head competitions. Teams are separated into a number of categories based on size and other factors (like non-profits, public agencies, and so on). After results are tallied, the BTA hosts a big and awesome party to celebrate (read our report and photos from last year’s event).
Last year, riders logged over 1.2 million miles. One-third of the way through this month, riders have logged 262,624 miles.
BTA staffer Stephanie Noll shared two new things to note this year. First is a team captain award in in memory of Brad Buchanan, a Bike Commute Challenge participant who passed away this year. Also new this year is a big, open-to-the-public after-party at Rotture (315 SE 3rd Ave) featuring a live performance by Hurtbird, whose “I Like My Bike” song we featured back in February (and you can listen to online here).
To entice more people to ride, many local businesses have come up with all sorts of encouragement programs. Portland-based Nau Clothing is giving away one of their excellent jackets to whomever comes up with the best caption on a photo of their bike. Check out all the fun submissions on Nau’s Facebook page.
Over at ad agency Wieden+Kennedy they’ve come up with a challenge of their own. If the company has 60 or more riders signed up and they log over 4,400 miles (doubling their stats from last year), a female employee will shave a male employees legs at an agency wide meeting. They even made a video about it. I hope it happens, just so I can see the photos.
Today’s Oregonian has a great article about the “perks” several other local companies are offering as part of the Bike Commute Challenge
Port of Portland employee Ray Terrill wrote in to say his team has logged about 2188 miles so far and that 2.5% of the staff is participating. He wants to drum up more competition with rivals in his category from the Port of Vancouver and staff at Community Environmental Services at PSU, both of whom Ray says his team is currently “leaving in the dust!”
Feel free to use the comments to trash talk your rivals and get more of you co-workers involved. The BTA is posting a daily “Bike Commute Photo of the Day” on their blog to keep you motivated.
Learn more and register to log your trips at BikeCommuteChallenge.com.