I’ve been a very busy bee recently. For the next few months I’m project managing the Love To Ride Edinburgh Cycle Challenge, a three week cycling event from 1 – 21 March funded by City of Edinburgh Council.
The aim of the game is to encourage new and occasional cyclists to get on their bike, log rides via the website or app, and win some great prizes in the process. Of course, regular cyclists are more than welcome to get involved, too.
If you live or work in Edinburgh, all you need to do is:
- Register yourself (and workplace) for free on the website: www.lovetoride.net/edinburgh
- Encourage colleagues and friends to take part.
- Ride a bike anywhere for 10 minutes or more between 1 – 21 March, log the ride online and win some great prizes.
- Workplaces across Edinburgh compete on leaderboards to get the most people on bikes!
It’s really easy to get involved and offers a range of benefits for individuals as well as employers. A ten minute bike ride is accessible to most people, and even if participants don’t have a bike they can borrow one and enjoy a short trip somewhere they feel comfortable. Plus, it’s all about participation and not distance – cycle 1 or 100 miles and there’s the same chance of winning a prize.
The challenge also fosters a bit of friendly competition between businesses and individual departments within organisations. The leaderboard is a fun way to encourage more colleagues to jump on a bike and rediscover the joys of cycling. But even if your workplace isn’t interested in getting involved, you can sign up as an individual and still take part. There’s no reason not to register, really! 🙂
What’s particularly interesting about the challenge is the behaviour change model that encourages more people to get cycling. On average, around 40% of non-cyclists that participate in the challenge start to ride a bike after the challenge finishes. The model is well established and successful. Take a look at this video to see how this works in practice.
But back to Edinburgh. This March’s Cycle Challenge prizes include:
- a beautiful Gazelle Esprit bike from Hart’s Cyclery
- B&B stay at the Cramond Mill
- 100 cinema tickets
- bike gear from Wee Cog
- goodies from Route Clothing
- massages from Blue Morpho
- memberships to CTC
- tickets to the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling, as well as a day’s cargo bike hire and some snazzy mugs
- lunch for four at the Cramond Falls Cafe
- Rich Dyson photography workshops
- and more to be confirmed.
There are plenty of prizes up for grabs, and all for just ten minutes on a bike. If you know anyone in the city that’s been toying with the idea of cycling or just needs a bit of a nudge, then this could be just what they need to rediscover the joys of travel by two wheels.
With the myriad of benefits cycling brings for you and your colleagues, what’s to lose with the Edinburgh Cycle Challenge? I’m encouraging organisations and individuals across the city to get involved, so I’d be delighted if you wanted to register and take part. It’s free and good fun, so register here and get on your bike!
Claire Cycles 