Commuting - Commuting contests

Have you ever participated in a Bicycle Commuting Contest and if so, what were the parameters or classifications, what were the incentives/prizes, was it a large scale affair (e.g. city-wide) or pretty small (e.g. within your company, school, etc.)?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Regards,
Don Johnson

Have you ever participated in a Bicycle Commuting Contest and if so, what were the parameters or classifications, what were the incentives/prizes, was it a large scale affair (e.g. city-wide) or pretty small (e.g. within your company, school, etc.)?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Regards,
Don Johnson

Three out of four clubs I have been in kept track of commute mileage. For friendly comparison only and minor recognition. No $$$. I have heard somewhere of cities doing contests comparing bikes, cars, etc.
Try contacting the League of American Bicyclists. Something about Chicago maybe. Bikes usually win.

Long ago and far away the spouse and I raced to a meeting on the far side of Denver. She took a bus and I biked. I started the moment she got on the bus. I got there in two hours and she took three. She lost half an hour at each of two transfers and a sereral block walk at the far end.

Valley Metro in Phoenix holds a contest during our bike week (which is in April since the one in May they think would be too hot for people). Their are prizes for the person with the most miles and ones drawn randomly for people with any miles. You log them on their website.

Here's one:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=106501

Don't know what came out of it, though.

--J

Have you ever participated in a Bicycle Commuting Contest and if so, what were the parameters or classifications, what were the incentives/prizes, was it a large scale affair (e.g. city-wide) or pretty small (e.g. within your company, school, etc.)?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Regards,
Don Johnson

Clean air . com had @ 3 month contest here on the Front Range. Started June 22 (bike to work day) and ended in Sept. (I think) You got 1 point for every day you rode. Course I was out from the get-go. I work a shorter week. (Longer hours). But I did win 50.00 for riding 100%. (and still do) Some college student who commutes maybe 2 miles won the big prze of 500.00.

Then there is Incentives where I work. You can receive a Gift Card every 3 months of (45.00). if you ride enough per month. I get them at Performance Bikes, next one will be REI.

Contests should be starting up again. Check your County's web page. Or even Cleanair.org and search your region.

Had an informal contest with my co worker this season. Nothing fancy, just total milage on the bike computer both rec/commute. I won this season. We'll see what happens next year, I'll be changing my work location sometime this spring so we won't be sitting next to each other and prodding/jabbing incentives will be diminshed. I also haven't scoped out routes yet for the new location.

Our Bike to Work Week had a bike commuting contest. I didn't participate, but apparently it was a success. It was very complicated, but went something like this:

You had to form a team of 5 people. At least 2 of the people had to be people who don't already do a lot of bike commuting.

Your team had to substitute trips they might have done by car with a bike as much as possible. In other words, if people on the team couldn't ride to work, they could count riding to the store instead.

After a month the team with the most miles, which were calculated with frequent commuters getting less points per mile than infrequent commuters (hence the incentive to get newbies on your team) won a prize. I don't remember what the prize was. Most people who participated felt that the experience was worth it.

The only improvement I'd want to see is a way to form virtual teams online because nobody where I worked wanted to join. I would have jumped at a chance to post a request to form a team, or just join a team that needed one more person. It would be a fun way to meet people.

I wonder if the OP is still checking his/her > 3 year old thread?

I wonder if the OP is still checking his/her > 3 year old thread?
Who cares? It's interesting information to the rest of us! :)

Seattle's local club sponsors this (http://cascade.org/Education/btw/cc.cfm). I'm going to sign up as a captain for my workplace this year.

Here's a Canadian one:

http://www.commuterchallenge.ca/english/

Here's a Canadian one:

http://www.commuterchallenge.ca/english/


This one's better:

http://spin.komex.com/commuterchallenge/sign_in.php