Local companies and individuals from across Carmel are signing up on the Love to Ride website to show support for bicycling as part of this May’s Bike Month Challenge.
This regional campaign seeks to encourage bicycling, foster friendly competition and inform future decisions around bicycle infrastructure. The challenge, which gets rolling May 1, is open to all residents of Carmel and those who work in the city. There is no cost to join the challenge.
Several local businesses have already signed up, including Methodist Sports Medicine, IU Health North, Rollfast and the City of Carmel.
During the month of May, the Carmel Bike Month Challenge will focus on encouraging people to get on their bikes and discover the joys and benefits of riding firsthand. Businesses and organizations will compete against each other by earning points based on various criteria. Unlike other bicycle competitions, this is not only about seeing who can ride the most miles, but it’s also about the number of rides, the encouragement of new riders and for workplace competitors to encourage co-workers to venture out on two wheels.
Participants can ride anywhere, anytime between May 1 and May 31 to earn points. Those who log a ride of at least 10 minutes will be eligible to win one of nearly 50 gift cards totaling $1,500 from local Carmel businesses.
Brainard
“We have made great progress in Carmel adding trails and paths to bolster our bicycle infrastructure,” Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said. “We would love to see our residents and employers in Carmel take advantage of that infrastructure and this unique challenge as a way to get out and explore our city.”
The Carmel Bike Month Challenge website features a live leaderboard for individuals and companies to see where they rank against their fellow competitors. There is also a special Cities Leaderboard to track how Carmel is doing against similar size cities throughout the month. While you can log your rides manually on the Love to Ride website or app, participants can also automatically log rides by syncing their profile to a riding app, such as Strava, and Map My Fitness.
Registration is open with no cost to participate and prizes are awarded simply for joining in the fun. For more information, go to lovetoride.net/Carmel and download the Love to Ride app in Play Store or the App Store.