The Bike to Work Week challenge was highly successful year in 2015, and head organizer Juliane Mark hopes 2016 will be even better.
In 2014, for one week many Rupertites ditched four wheels for two, in order to burn calories and lower greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.
Last year, 59 riders registered, cycling 402 km, burning 12,045 calories, saved $50 on gas and 90 kilograms of greenhouse gasses.
The Friendship House team cycled 115.73 km, beating the Port Authority who had 29.51 km, and The Pioneers, with 27.70 km.
The Friendship House is the poster team for the event this year and they get to model and be on the poster for the 2016 event.
This year’s event runs from May 30 to June 5, with an opening event at Javadotcup on May 28. Mark said they hope to have a bike clinic, helmet awareness, and sign up forms for people to register.
“We’ll also try to have a map there with nice bike routes to kind of bypass traffic.”
Mark is also looking for more sponsors in order to have celebration stations in front of Javadotcup every morning during the week, where people can gather and cheer on cyclists.
The grand prize for Bike to Work BC is a cycling trip for two through Vietnam, which is an offer Mark hopes will encourage more people to sign up.
Information for the week is available on the group’s Facebook page, and Mark said they’re hoping to set up a Twitter account as well.
Mark contacted Bike To Work in 2014 to get the event set up in Prince Rupert, and said the organization was excited to expand to the area.
“They were really keen on this, because they’re also trying to grow the network.”
She said she likes participating in the event because she cycles anyways, and she enjoys biking up and down the city’s hills.