The National Bike Challenge officially began May 1st. The challenge is essentially a nationwide effort to increase bicycle ridership through camaraderie and good-natured competition.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (BCGP) is organizing the initiative for Philly.

So how does the National Bike Challenge work?

The National Bike Challenge allows participants  to log online the miles they ride from May 1st until September 30th. The event website tracks miles ridden, calories burned, and CO2 emissions saved. The competition comes from ranking participants individually, by team, workplace, community and state. Bicycling-related prizes are awarded monthly. All bicycle trips, both commuting and recreational, count towards a user’s totals.

So far more than 400 riders have registered in the Philadelphia region, representing 90 employers. In 2012, more than 1,000 Philadelphia area residents biked more than 352,000 miles. Pennsylvania placed 7th in the nation and Philadelphia was the 71st-most-bicycling community (ranked per capita). Nationally, 30,000 participants rode 12 million miles. Plus, we were named awesome honors like #1 city for bike commuting in the US in 2011 and maintaining the position in 2012!

On the fence about participating?

Here’s some potential ammunition from BCGP Communications Coordinator Nicholas Mirra:

Someone from Bike Pittsburgh wrote on our Facebook wall at 1:00 AM asking if Pittsburgh was ‘gonna have to carry the state again’ this year. So we’re hoping Philly responds vigorously to that nonsense.

Readers, are you planning on participating in the National Bike Challenge? Tell us in the comments.

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Beth is a Health and Wellness expert who believes sustainability goes hand-in-hand with self care. She’s the girl whipping up kombucha cocktails at parties, and extolling the benefits of canning vegetables to anyone who will listen. View all posts by Beth Funari