Bike to Work 2017 Team Bike Challenge Squads Log Impressive Mileage

Congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s Marin County Team Bike Challenge during National Bike Month.  With the thousands of riders who help celebrate on Bay Area Bike to Work day, it’s important to remember that there is an annual month-long commute challenge competition taking place! These winning teams logged miles throughout the month to lead the way.

Though using a new name this year, some very familiar faces led the “Super Sonic Super Blooms” team as they won Marin County’s Team Bike Challenge for 2017. Team members work for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (riding last year as “Get Your Ergeron”) and decided to honor this season’s amazing wildflowers with their new name.

Congratulations Team Bike Challenge Top Three Teams for 2017

• 1st: Super Sonic Super Blooms

• 2nd: WRA San Rafael Office

• 3rd: Leaders of the (Battery) Pack

We had a chance for a little Q&A with the Team Bike Challenge and Company Challenge winners for 2017 in Marin County.

Super Sonic Super Blooms

What’s behind your success in the Team Bike Challenge?

Our biggest motivation to organize a team and ride was for the fun of riding. We never expected to win, so we were riding for the fun of it. The Quest points were especially fun to earn, something about getting a medal on my dashboard was really encouraging.

Was your time on the bike during the challenge any different than the rest of the year? 

For myself, I ride consistently through the year, but during the challenge I did make an effort to get a few extra miles to earn Quest points especially for weekend errands.

Has your team’s commute  changed since your last win (longer, shorter, route)? 

Our commutes have stayed the same since we won last time. The biggest difference was that everyone’s life got busier and three people couldn’t log miles this year.

How else did you log miles in Marin?

Other than biking to work, we did a company ride around the Paradise loop for coffee. We are lucky to have scenic roads in Marin with great bike paths!

What makes this effort worth it all?

The sense of accomplishment of being a couple of the top mile earners on our company’s leaderboard. Our company also has a Health and Wellness Committee which sponsors an early morning healthy breakfast near the end of the month with raffle prizes. It’s something all our company’s riders look forward to and we get featured in our company newsletter.

The Bike to Work day is always fun too! Stopping at all the Energizer Stations and seeing all the bike commuters has a nice feeling of community.

 

WRA
San Rafael Office & Small company first place winners

What motivates you to organize a team and ride, ride, ride?

WRA has been competing in Team Bike Challenge for many years now, and has always enjoyed the friendly competition the month of May invokes, both between companies in the Bay Area, as well as between individuals within our organization.  WRA also has a pretty strong bike culture, and encourages employees to get to and from work through means other than a car all year round.  We have a carpool program that awards employees time off once they earn a certain number of points based on how they reduce their carbon footprint while commuting, whether it be through ride sharing, biking, running, or riding the ferry.

Where do you team members travel from?

Our team biked to our locations in Emeryville and San Rafael from many different places throughout the month.  We have a strong group of riders biking from various San Francisco and Oakland neighborhoods, as well as Fairfax, San Rafael, San Anselmo, Ross, and beyond.

Other than cycling to work, how else did you log miles?

Team members replaced car rides to common errand spots such as the grocery store and post office, and also got around their communities on the weekends with their families, traveling to parks, seashores, church, etc.  We also planned group lunches throughout the week where we all rode our bikes to our favorite local restaurants.

What are some of the planning logistics you and your team must work around (for example: family responsibilities, work hours which might include long days, early mornings or late nights)?

We have a lot of staff that do field work outside of the office in May.  Because of this, staff that were hoping to commute via bicycle were unable to.  In addition, the normal responsibilities to family and extracurricular activities made it challenging to consistently commute to the office throughout the month.

What are some of the highlights from this process?

We all really enjoy the camaraderie that comes along with each Bike to Work Month. Aside from the normal commute and organized lunch rides, we also organize multiple weekend rides throughout the Bay Area, including a Healdsburg winery tour we did this year. These events provide the opportunity for us to get to know each other and our families better outside of the office, and to enjoy what we love so much as a company family: riding our bikes!

Leaders of the (Battery) Pack – First place for Extra Small Company Division  

Erik Ayers of Lithos Energy sent us this Team Bike Challenge recap:

“The team was just me, riding alone. I live in SF and cross the bridge every day to Sausalito. I started this job in April, partly because I would get to spend my commute on a bicycle instead of a freeway. So far it’s been great! Awesome views every day and no bridge toll.”