500 organisations and 4387 participants took part in the Auckland Bike Challenge, collectively riding 656,515km and logging 46,506 bike rides.
881 people who took part are new riders, who had either not biked at all or only a few times in the year before the challenge.
New rider Joanna Williams got her ebike at the beginning of February, and finished the challenge as the top female new rider.
Throughout the challenge, she took 38 trips and covered 640km, replacing her car commute from West Auckland to Parnell with a bike.
“I used to arrive at work in a bit of a grumpy mood due to the frustrating traffic, but now I arrive feeling good, and at a time that has nothing to do with traffic. The overall commute time (both ways) is actually pretty similar to what the car takes, but I’m getting the benefits that car travel didn’t provide,” she says.
Numbers are on the rise
Auckland Council’s cycling champion Chris Darby says the numbers are a massive increase on last year.
“It reflects the rapidly growing numbers cycling to work, school and local shops," he says.
“As we keep making our network safer, I expect even more people to get on their bikes next year.”
