Eight local businesses and organizations were recognized at the 2019 CycleMAYnia Bike Challenge Awards ceremony June 6 at Goleta Beach Park.
Overall, 96 teams competed in the 2019 Bike Challenge, making nearly 17,000 bike trips and traveling more than 61,000 miles in May. The total mileage was equal to traveling 2 1/2 times around the earth, a distance that would emit 24.8 tons of CO2 if traveled by car.
The annual Bike Challenge is credited for demystifying the experience of using a bicke to commute to work by helping everyday employees throughout the South Coast take a leap and try riding their bicycles to work in a fun, competitive team challenge.
“It’s been so fun discovering a new take on my daily commute,” Suzie Clark, who works at Deckers Brands, said on competing in the Bike Challenge. “I’ve been wanting to take on the challenge of biking to work but was a little nervous.
“This month instilled so much confidence in my ability to bike myself and my daughter to work and school safely and efficiently. I feel like I can keep this up as a real solution to not driving every day.”
The 2019 Bike Challenge awardees include the following:
Winning Teams: 1st place, city of Goleta COG-ers!; 2nd place, city of Santa Barbara PW Pedalers; 3rd place, UCSB Biking in Space.
Runners Up (Top Ten): Teams from Geosyntec Consultants, Asylum Research, Yardi Systems, Inc., and UCSB.
Individual, Most Trips (tied): Brian D’Amour, J. Ritterbeck, Cynthia Stahl: 124 bike trips.
Individual, Most Miles: Female Rider Category: Christy Evans, 528 miles, Deckers Brands; Male Rider Category: Scott Kennedy, 1,232 miles, Santa Barbara City College.
CycleMAYnia and the Bike Challenge provide an annual opportunity for community members to celebrate biking and connect over shared experiences.
“We have learned that team-based motivation brings coworkers and friends closer together and serves as a catalyst for new kinds of bike trips,” said Kent Epperson, director of SBCAG Traffic Solutions.
At the event, staff from SBBIKE drew the names of three raffle winners for top-of-the-line electric bicycles in their Great E-Bike Raffle.
“Bicycling is becoming increasingly accessible to people of all abilities, and increasingly convenient due to the emerging e-bike market,” Ed France, executive director of SBBIKE, told the crowd. He thanked raffle sponsors Bicycle Bob’s, Tern, and EbikeZZZ.
CycleMAYnia is a program of Traffic Solutions at SBCAG, offering 40 bike rides and events for people of all biking abilities. It is made possible by Measure A and local sponsors for 2019: Santa Barbara County, Community Environmental Council, city of Carpinteria, city of Goleta, Yardi Systems, Inc., Bicycle Bob’s, and SBBIKE.
— Lauren Bianchi Klemann for Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.