This week marked the official end of winter and the beginning of spring, but it also marked the announcement of the National Bike Challenge, which aims to inspire and empower millions of Americans to ride their bikes for transportation, recreation and better health. This is an initiative from the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong and Endomondo,
The goal is to get more people riding and 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.
“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.”
This program was born as an idea by Kimberly-Clark, Endomondo and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin in 2011. It was first started by K-C research engineer, Rob Gusky, and Kimberly-Clark extended the competition to its 57,000 global employees. The Challenge proved to be an excellent team building and wellness activity, and 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.