Riders of all ages in the Queenstown Lakes District can be in to win one of eight stylish Basil (pannier) Bags as this year’s Aotearoa Bike Challenge approaches the finish line this week.

Hundreds of people in our community have been putting their best pedal forward, cranking up more than 7,500 trips by bike totalling more than 100,000km already this month in the annual nationwide campaign to get more of us biking to work, to school and just for fun.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is funding local efforts through its travel demand management programme and has once again partnered with local sustainable travel advocates the Lightfoot Initiative to host free breakfasts, maintenance lessons, learn-to-ride sessions and giveaways throughout February’s challenge.

QLDC Senior Transport Planner Adrienne Hooper says it’s not too late to ditch the car this month and join the push for pedal-power.

“We’ve already seen an astounding number of rides logged this year by everyone from two-year-old bubs to those in their eighties,” she said.

“The Basil Bags look super-cool and make biking an option even when you have to carry groceries, picnics or work papers. Anyone already signed up or who does so before the end of the month stands a chance to win one simply by uploading a photo. If you haven’t already, just head to lovetoride.net/queenstownlakes to register. Then check out the competition on the Council’s Facebook page.”

While the Aotearoa Bike Challenge itself is all about participation, Adrienne says employers and schools have set up their own homepage to see how they compare to others.

“We’re super proud that our staff have been embracing the challenge so much that QLDC currently places first nationally in the government and public services category – and fourth overall of all participating organisations – with a similar number of staff.”

“We’d love to see everyone across the district racking up as many kilometres as possible this week to show the rest of the country how much we love getting out on our bikes,” she said.

Lightfoot Initiative General Manager Amanda Robinson has seen an increase in trips made by bike, particularly at locations such as Wakatipu High School and Queenstown Airport.

“The prizes on offer for points gained during the challenge have been motivating many participants. However, an informal, friendly competition has sprung up between local workplaces that’s really spurred some people on,” she said.

“The Lightfoot team has been so impressed with how enthusiastically the community has engaged with the many activations during the month. From wee kids learning to ride independently to huge numbers of coffee drinkers chatting on Wednesday mornings, we can see that biking is bringing the community together.”

With a few days to go in this year’s Aotearoa Bike Challenge, there are still prizes to be won and events running until 29 February. Workplaces are encouraged to register now. A full calendar of local events can be found online at https://lightfoot.org.nz/abc2024/

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