Challenge yourself to a healthier summer

Challenge yourself to a healthier lifestyle this summer by joining Village Bicycle Cooperative in the 2014 National Bike Challenge. This free challenge takes place between May 1 and Sept. 30. This is not a fundraiser, but instead a fun way for participants to track their biked miles during the five-month challenge.  Participants can even link approved smartphone exercise apps to their challenge accounts to automatically log miles for them. 

On top of the personal challenge to increase biking, local teams, local cities, and cities from around the country compete against each other. Your miles also let legislators know that Americans are increasing their use of bicycles for transportation and recreation.

The annual challenge is not only a great way to track your biking miles and exercise, but also your gasoline savings, and reduction in carbon emissions. These stats are automatically calculated for you on the challenge website. At the end of the challenge, you might be surprised at how many miles you rack up, how much money you save in gasoline, and how much carbon you prevent from releasing into the atmosphere.

Last year, 64 communities in northeast Ohio participated in the National Bike Challenge. Of those communities, Bay Village scored the most points, earning it the No. 1 spot in our region. This was a result of 27 Bay Village participants logging 27,685 miles during the five-month challenge! We know that many more people biked in each participating city last summer, but their miles were not counted. Consider adding your miles to the challenge by joining today. A city's total miles will automatically be calculated based on the combined total of all participants that entered that city's zip-code during signup.

Every mile counts, so don't worry if you only bike a few miles a week. The challenge is for all types of bike riders, not just long-distance riders. Even though the challenge has already started, it is not too late to join because the site allows participants to log miles in the past.

Signing up and logging miles for the National Bike Challenge is quick and easy. Instructions for both can be found at challenge.villagebicycle.org. Contact patrick@villagebicycle.org if you have any issues signing up.

Read More on Recreation
Volume 6, Issue 10, Posted 9:49 AM, 05.13.2014