Soaring gas prices are on lots of people’s minds these days. Since 80% of people who sign up for Let’s Bike also drive, biking is a great way to reduce your bills by leaving your car in the driveway when you can. It’s also one of the best ways to take action on climate in our city, where approximately 45% of our greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation.
Whether you’re a seasoned cyclist, or just starting out, Let’s Bike Month will help you see the concrete impacts of choosing to bike! Last year, we made a big dent in our community’s carbon emissions, as we collectively averted nearly 50 tonnes of GHG emissions throughout the course of the month of June, with 195,000 kms logged by our 2136 participants. This year, we’re looking forward to hopping on our bikes again and showing what a big difference biking can make! Through the Let’s Bike app, participants can track the number of times they ride their bikes, the distance they travel, and the amount of GHG emissions they have averted. Anyone can register as either an individual or as part of a team, and participants are automatically entered in a daily prize draw when they log their rides.
Let’s Bike Month is brought to you by EnviroCentre in partnership with the City of Ottawa, but we can’t do it without our community! Amazing participants (that’s you!) that share the campaign and inspire others to ride a bit more, our generous sponsors (like Zibi, CAANEO and Velofix) who help us with funding and community events, and of course so many local businesses who together have donated over $9000 in prizes!
We’re so excited that this year we’ll be hosting some fun in person activities and events with our fantastic partners! One of the most exciting events coming up this month is our big (free) ticket item, a BIKE-IN TALENT SHOW showing off the amazing talents that our cycling community has! Register your act and showcase any musical, artistic or other creative and interesting talent you may have, or just come watch the show and celebrate our community’s talent! But whether you’re interested in performing or spectating, let us know – space is limited!
We’ll also be at a bunch of community events this year, like the REDBLACKS home opener, and the Minto park Sale, so stop by and say hello! And we have a few bike maintenance workshops happening with the Ottawa Tool Library, and Retro Rides for those who are interested, in addition to over a dozen free public online workshops. There is something for everyone, new and experienced cyclists alike, with topics like urban cycling, family cycling and route planning! You can find all of the workshops and resources offered this year right here!
No matter where you ride, or how far you go, we are here to celebrate Ottawa’s cycling community all month long! Join Let’s Bike Month and start logging those trips! We love giving away those prizes to our happy cyclists!