Up for a Challenge?

By Melanie Stewart

Do you like to bike?  Maybe it’s for exercise, something fun to do with your kids, or part of your daily commute (hopefully as part of TravelSmart!).  Whatever the reason, consider participating in the National Bike Challenge.  Signing up is free, it allows you to track your cycling miles whether for transportation or recreation, and can promote improvements to cycling infrastructure in our community.

In 2014 our community created a mega-team, Omaha VeloCity, to compete with mega-teams created in other cities across the country. Omaha VeloCity finished #2 in the nation in 2014 and #5 last year, with 399 area cyclists participating.  Let’s increase that number and move our ranking back up!

Many of you may remember Jack Mayfield, an avid cyclist who worked on campus and with UNeMed.  Jack was instrumental in starting and promoting team Omaha VeloCity, and you can read about him here.

The National Bike Challenge began May 1st and concludes September 30th.   Sign up today and begin tracking your miles (each trip of a mile or more gets 10 points and an additional point for every mile ridden).  Indicate your team as Omaha VeloCity and your employer as Nebraska Medical Center.  By demonstrating that cycling matters, you can help our community and city leaders understand the need for better infrastructure and safer streets.  If that’s not enough, you can also win prizes!

While you’re at it, sign up for the Live Well Omaha Commuter Challenge. It occurs in conjunction with the National Bike Challenge and encourages all of us to use active transportation.  Sign up for the Omaha Commuter Challenge here and log bus, bike, walking, and carpooling trips.  Oh, did I mention you can win prizes here too?

Walking, cycling, carpooling, and taking the bus are great ways to become healthier, improve the air quality in Omaha, and even win prizes!  So what are you waiting for?  Clink the links above to sign up and we’ll see you out there.

Other Resources:

 

TravelSmart Bicycle Page

 

TravelSmart Walking Page

 

TravelSmart Carpool Page

 

TravelSmart Bus Page

 

The Omaha Metropolitan Area Bicycle Map

 

Paths of Discovery – Metro Area Trails Map

 

Zimride; Med Center Carpool Matching

 

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