Sustainable Orillia 2024 Bike Challenge: Sustainable Spokes - Healthy Folks

By Township of Oro-Medonte - April 17, 2024

Township News and Notices

Sustainable Orillia, with support from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, is pleased to present its 2024 Bike Challenge: Sustainable Spokes - Healthy Folks. The Kick-Off event is planned for April 26th at 7:00 pm (ending 8:30 pm) at the Orillia Recreation Centre, Multi-Purpose Room B. For those interested, the opportunity to register for both the kick-off event and/or the Bike Challenge, please visit the EventBrite webpage. There is no cost to attend the event or to participate in the challenge. Please see the Eventbrite registration link for more details about how the Challenge works. Registration is now public and live so anyone can register anytime starting now.

This is an open challenge to the public that will begin May 11th and end June 8th (measured as a four week period not a calendar month) to celebrate Bike to Work Day in Canada and other bike challenges that occur around the world in the months of April and May. Instead of driving a car, ride your bicycle to work or school for the next 4 weeks ending Friday, June 8th, 2024. In this challenge EVERY TRIP COUNTS - even trips to the grocery store, going for a pleasure ride, or recreational biking on trails etc. - they all count!

At the April 26^th Kick-Off Event there will be presentations to provide information about the Health Benefits of Cycling, the Simcoe County 160 km Loop Trail, and Local trails in our surrounding Municipalities, as well as free handouts including maps and cycling guides.

About The Challenge

The challenge is not a race but a personal challenge for participants to do their best to ride instead of driving/being driven in a car to work or school. E-Bike users are welcome but will be asked not to use above the first level of assist (based upon the honour system). Routes will be left up to the discretion of participants and will not be supervised by Sustainable Orillia; participants will be required to sign a waiver. The kilometers and number of trips made by participants will be recorded using STRAVA. Non Strava users will be required to keep a record of their distances and trips on provided record forms. At the end of the challenge the "winners" will be declared and prizes awarded based on their Strava/record form data. The challenge is not limited to Orillia residents and will be open to anyone in Simcoe County.

There will be two age categories for the challenge: children (14 years old and under) and adult. The event will be promoted at the schools; any student from any school in Simcoe County is welcome to participate with parental/legal guardian consent and a signed waiver. Any participants under the age of 18 years old will require permission from a parent/legal guardian. Prizes will be awarded as per below:

Individual:

The 3 highest total KM. will be awarded first, second and third place
The 3 highest total number of cycling trips will be awarded first, second, and third place

Team:

Participants are allowed to compete as a member of a team of three
The 3 highest team total KM. will be awarded first, second and third place
The 3 highest team total number of cycling trips will be awarded first, second, and third place

Community:

To make the challenge even more fun, the final cumulative distance will be added up to see if participants have collectively met the goal of travelling across Canada, a distance of 7560 KM. If this distance challenge is obtained Sustainable Orillia, or another sponsor, will donate to a local social justice charity.

Trails in Oro-Medonte

Oro-Medonte is home to some great routes and trails for cycling of all abilities. Please remember to keep safety in mind and plan ahead.

If you're looking for more information on mountain biking, there are several options including Horseshoe Resort or Hardwood Ski & Bike, or the trails in the beautiful Copeland Forest, or connecting with the Simcoe County Mountain Biking Club who maintain trails in the Simcoe County Forest.

For Road Cycling: Cycle Simcoe - Lake Country Cycling Routes

Event Registration Sustainable Orillia Rail Trail