‘Bike to Work’ competition now open

This year the City of Ostrava is cooperating with the Auto*Mat association, the organizer of the ‘Bike to Work’ competition. This annual nationwide event promotes cycling as an everyday form of commuting to work, and this May it is being held for the eighth time.

According to the competition’s organizing team, the aim of the event is to motivate as many people as possible to use cycling – or other non-motorized forms of transport, including walking or running – when commuting to work. If people stop using cars every day, they will soon feel a number of benefits. They will improve their physical fitness (and their mood), and they will also contribute to improvements in air quality – all helping to make the city a safer, more pleasant place to live and work. The motto for this year’s competition is ‘Save the City’.

The competition is a team event. Colleagues form teams of between 2 and 5 members, and each team must regularly cycle to work together during May. This year, as in the previous two years, the competition is also open to people who commute in other ways – walking, running, skating, skateboarding, wheelchair users, and more…

The competition includes several categories evaluating entrants based on how regularly they cycle (walk, run etc.) to work, the length of their journey, creative ideas, and more. Employers can also compete for the title ‘Cycle Employer of the Year’ or ‘Best Competition within a Company’. One of the aims of the event is to persuade employers to create proper facilities for employees who cycle to work (bike stands, showers, changing rooms, and so on).

There is a small fee for participating (either 290 CZK or 390 CZK depending on the registration date). The fee includes the price of a T-shirt with the competition logo; the wearer can get discounts at a range of events run by the local coordinator.

Ostrava is this year’s local coordinator

This is the first year in which the City of Ostrava is directly involved in the ‘Bike to Work’ competition as the local coordinator, though in previous years up to 500 local citizens participated in the event. So help us to increase this number! Join our local ‘Bike to Work’ Facebook group (‘Do práce na kole – Ostrava’) and tell us:

• What prizes do you want to compete for?
• What “T-shirt events” you would like to see?
• Would you like to take part in a cycle ride in May?