Month-long Bay Area Bike Challenge started May 1

SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- May 1 was the start of the Bay Area Bike Challenge (previously known as Team Bike Challenge)! Running through May 31 -- National Bike Month ? the Challenge is designed to get bike riders of all abilities to pedal to work, school, errands or anywhere they need to go over the course of the month.

This year, the Challenge works on the Love to Ride platform -- https://www.lovetoride.net/Bayarea -- which is designed to encourage new riders, congratulate all participants on their accomplishments, provide virtual incentives to set goals and a friendly competition that culminates in bragging rights for teams and individuals alike. Through the Love to Ride platform, riders also are automatically participating in the National Bike Challenge, where they vie with other cyclists across the country for great prizes.

"The 2018 Bike Challenge is more inclusive and flexible than ever before," said Shiloh Ballard, Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. "Using Love to Ride's technology ? designed to be easy to use and to encourage riders of all abilities to participate ? we are excited to get more people out pedaling through the month of May."

Participants use an app to log their miles. Everyone is encouraged to use Ride Report, a sponsor of Bike to Work Day 2018, so that their data is collected automatically and compiled for regional cities and towns to use as they plan for future biking infrastructure, safety, etc. Of course, all ride tracking apps (such as Strava, MapMyRide, etc.) can be used, but those rides need to be logged manually and don't contribute to the data collected for planning purposes.

"We look forward to a great Challenge, and to having participants share Bike to Work Day with us on May 10. It's going to be an amazing ride!"

Presented by MTC, 511 and Kaiser Permanente, Bay Area Bike to Work Day encourages local residents to try commuting on two wheels for the first time and celebrates those who bike to work regularly. In addition to MTC (the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area), 511 (the region's traveler information system) and Kaiser Permanente, Bike to Work Day 2018 receives regional support from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Clear Channel Outdoor, Clif Bar, Chipotle, Ride Report and Exodus Travels, as well as from many sponsors at the local level. Bike to Work Day's media sponsor is NBC Bay Area-KNTV/Telemundo 48. Prizes for the Bike Commuter of the Year winners were donated by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), Chipotle and Mike's Bikes. Day-of 2-for-1 promotion provided by Chipotle. The event is made possible through the cooperation of thousands of volunteers, county congestion management agencies, local jurisdictions, local bicycling coalitions and MTC.

SOURCE MTC