20,000 miles pedaled during Lake Tahoe Bike Challenge

During the first two weeks of June, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition teamed up to lead the 14th annual Tahoe Bike Challenge. 285 people took the challenge and biked 20,420 miles at Lake Tahoe.

The basin-wide challenge is a friendly competition that encourages individuals and teams to track trips and miles on their bikes. Starting June 1 and running through June 14, Tahoe Basin bikers prevented an estimated 6,945 pounds of carbon dioxide from escaping into the atmosphere.

South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe City kicked off this year’s challenge with the annual bike path cleanup. Working with more than 100 volunteers, The League to Save Lake Tahoe, Clean Tahoe, and the Bike Coalition picked up 350 pounds of trash from Tahoe area bike paths. The cleaning efforts provided clean and safe paths throughout the challenge.

The new Tahoe Bike Challenge website www.lovetoride.net/Tahoe helped participants log their trips and miles during the two week competition. Winners will receive Vail Resorts ski or mountain bike lift tickets, as well as passes to Blue Granite Climbing Gym, free Lime scooter rides, and other great biking accessories.

Top Bike Challenge team and individual rider will also get a trophy. To see all of the rankings, just go to www.lovetoride.net/tahoe/event_results.

“Congratulations to all of the winners and riders,” said Kira Smith, Transportation Planner at TRPA. “We hope the Challenge inspires people to bike and walk through the rest of the year.”

TRPA’s John Marshall won the individual challenge, with a whopping 626 miles logged over 13 days of riding. John’s longest single ride was from Truckee to Stateline, and he still made it to work on time.

“I love to be on my bike in the morning. Especially when I’m riding around the west shore of Lake Tahoe just as the sun is coming up. Cycling from Truckee to Stateline at sunrise gives you a great perspective on the day, and makes for an even better night’s sleep,” Said Marshall.

Participants also had the option to form teams of 10 and compete for team points. OGL Services won the team challenge with 1,303 miles over a combined 80 days. Chris McNamara, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of OGL Services said, "We love the Bike Challenge. It shows people how much more fun it is to commute on a bike than in a car. I can’t imagine a better place to bike than Lake Tahoe."

Nearly 600 elementary and middle school students also walked or rode their bikes to school from June 5-7, helping reduce congestion on streets and roadways. Classes from each school with the most participants won a free climbing day at Blue Granite Climbing Gym.

Lake Tahoe Bike Challenge organizers hope to see people continue to bike, walk, and ride transit this summer. TRPA and its partners recently launched a new travel options website, www.LinkingTahoe.com which provides comprehensive information about ways to get around Tahoe without driving. The Bike Coalition’s interactive bike map can also be found at www.tahoebike.org/map.