Bicycle Challenge: How Many Miles Can You Clock in 2012?

The staff at was trying to think of a way to promote cycling as a viable commuter choice over driving a car for the New Year when they came up with the idea of a challenge.

“We thought, why not reward someone and provide a little additional motivation on those, ‘should I ride or drive to work’ mornings,” said Darren Manci, manager of the bike shop.

With the new toll on the 520 Bridge coming right before the New Year, Manci said it was the perfect time to reach out and get people to consider ditching the car for pedal power.

“It's really a no-brainer: fresh air, dump the gym membership, no tolls, less gas and improve your health,” he said. “If you calculate the basic expense [of a car] you could buy a bicycle and commuter gear to ride to work five days a week and, depending on parking and tolls, save $2k+ a year.”

Thus, Woodinville Bicycle’s Mileage Challenge 2012 was conceived. There are no limits about where a rider can log miles in the yearlong challenge. Most riders leave from home or go on group rides from parks, park and rides around the King and Snohomish counties, Manci said.

And there are prizes for the top riders. The cyclist with the most miles will win a Garmin Edge 500 w/ Bundle or a Garmin Edge 500 for whomever accrues the most miles and vertical feet, according to Manci. And more prizes are being donated all the time, he added.

Participants post their mileage via the ride’s Facebook page, (click here to read the page), and track their mileage using an Internet-based log such as Garmin’s connect, Map My Ride or Ride With GPS, he added.

“Ideally we would like to see mileage logged via some sort of GPS phone-based app or other computer program,” Manci said.

For those that do not use social media, Manci said they can email MC2012@woodinvillebicycle.com: “If they email us status updates we can provide a little motivation via Facebook and our blog-website, www.woodinvillebicycle.com.”

The staff also plans to promote the ride and hopefully sign up more riders at the Seattle Bike Swap in February.

One thing cyclists cannot do is count miles from a spinning class or other indoor biking. “They are good for you, but this is promoting commuting, being outdoors and hopefully riding with others,” he said.