Bike to PSU Challenge promotes alternative transportation, health

Those looking for a reason to start commuting by bike this spring can stop looking and start riding during this month’s Bike to PSU Challenge.

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Those looking for a reason to start commuting by bike this spring can stop looking and start riding during this month’s Bike to PSU Challenge.

Open to students and staff, the challenge lasts through the end of May and offers competitors a chance to prove their mettle by logging their trips and competing for weekly and monthly prizes as well as “fame and glory,” according to the Bike to PSU website.

The formula behind the challenge relies on tracking how many of a participant’s trips to campus are made by bike. The resulting percentage is also tracked, and each trip logged acts as a ticket for the competition’s weekly raffles.

“We like to reward the folks that go for 100 percent,” said Ian Stude, the transportation operations manager for the university’s Transportation and Parking Services department.

Those with longer commutes are eligible for mileage-based awards as well.

Riders can compete on their own, but participants are encouraged to start or join a team of four to 10 riders.

“The team structure helps drive a healthy competition between groups on campus,” while acting as a support network, said Clint Culpepper, supervisor at the Bike Hub, PSU’s on-campus bicycle shop.

“The [team] captains are the glue,” Stude continued, adding that “people really get into the captain role.”

Different riders and teams can challenge each other through the competition’s website.

“It’s probably the best possible version of peer pressure,” Stude said.

There are currently more than 1,100 riders registered, and more than 900 of them have logged a trip through the challenge’s website. More than 120 teams are currently participating.

“Our participation level is just slightly ahead of this time last year,” Stude said, “but we’re hoping to see another growth spurt this week.”

Stude’s advice to potential participants is blunt.

“Sign up,” he said.

In the past, riders who have joined the challenge usually continue getting to PSU on their bikes. “We see two habits,” Culpepper said, adding that newer riders usually add bike commuting to their range of transportation options and that those with more experience often begin getting around primarily by bike.

The last day of the challenge is Friday, May 31, and overall individual and team awards will be handed out at a celebration event on Tuesday, June 4.

Those with questions can stop by the Bike Hub or visit biketopsu.com.