Mayors rally riders to the Challenge

NZ Transport Agency

4 February 2009

Mayors rally riders to the Challenge

The annual quest for New Zealand’s most cycle mad city or town is on again this month. Mayors in more than 50 centres across the country will be donning yellow jackets and calling on families and townsfolk to join them on a fun, local bike ride.

The aim of the ‘Mayoral Challenge’ is to get as many people participating as possible. Points are earned for each cyclist who takes part, with bonus points given for celebrities, councillors, business leaders and journalists fearless enough to brave a bike seat.

The Mayoral Challenge is a highlight of Bike Wise Month, a nationwide campaign aimed at getting Kiwis to be more active and to discover biking as an enjoyable and viable means of transport.

Challenges are organised independently by local councils and cycling advocates, and include spot prizes, free giveaways and other fun activities making them ideal for parents and their children. The rides are kept fairly short, and the routes chosen aren’t demanding, so anybody can take part.

This will be the fourth Mayoral Challenge and the competition gets bigger every year.

Last year almost 16,000 cyclists from 35 regions took part. Three Cycle Mad titles were awarded according to population size. Rodney District Council took the large centre award, with over 2,200 cyclists in attendance. Central Hawke’s Bay District Council got the title in the mid size category, with 684 riders taking part. Opotiki won in the smaller centre category with a total of 603 cyclists.

NZ Transport Agency Communications Manager, Janice McDougall, says the growing popularity of Mayoral Challenges is not surprising.

“High attendance at Mayoral Challenges and other Bike Wise events reflects a rising interest in biking as a means of commuter transport. Cycling is a way to save fuel money in more difficult economic times and it’s also an environmentally friendly way of keeping fit. Councils also see the Challenge as a way they can show leadership and encourage their people to be active and enjoy being part of their communities.

“We know, too, that some healthy inter-regional rivalry happens. A lot of centres work very hard to mobilise their people so they can win the cycle mad title.”

Mayoral Challenges will be held on different days throughout February, depending on the locality.

Participating cities and districts taking part this year include:

Alexandra, Ashburton, Balclutha, Cromwell, Dannevirke, Dunedin, Fairlie, Feilding, Franklin, Gisborne, Greymouth, Hamilton, Hawera, Hokitika, Kaikohe, Kaipara, Kawerau, Kerikeri, Lower Hutt, Mangawhai, Mangonui, Manukau, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Oamaru, Opotiki, Pahiatua, Palmerston North, Papakura, Porirua, Richmond, Rolleston, Rotorua, Selwyn, South Taranaki, Takaka, Taupo, Tauranga, Te Kuiti, Timaru, Upper Hutt, Waimate, Waipukurau, Waitomo, Wanganui, Whakatane and Whangarei.

Visit http://www.bikewise.co.nz/Site/events/ for further information or contact your local council.

Bike Wise Month is an annual promotion funded by the NZ Transport Agency and the Ministry of Health to help progress the National Transport Strategy, which aims for 30 percent of all urban trips to be by bike or on foot by 2040 – almost double the current figure of 17 percent.

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