It’s official. Driving a car isn’t any faster than riding a bike. In fact, the power of pedal beat out its car counterpart Monday morning in a race for first place.
The first cyclists wheeled across the W.L. Seaton finish line in three minutes, 40 seconds from Skyride Cycle (on Silver Star Road). While the car lagged behind at six minutes, 12 seconds.
“I’m still tired,” said Adam Tishenko, who was the first to roll in alongside fellow Seaton grad Marco Arnold Monday morning.
“We were going in the highest speed the whole way,” added Arnold, who not only rode the challenge course, but biked from his East Hill home to the school to help set up the celebration station and then cycled up to Skyride before rolling back down the hill.
The race, which kicked off Bike to Work Week in the North Okanagan, is the second annual (the cyclists came out on top in last year’s challenge too).
Vernon is one of 17 communities across B.C. joining the challenge to bike to work (expecting 16,000 to 17,000 people to take part). It’s not too late to join the challenge, as a team of one or more, at www.biketowork.ca.
“Just try it,” encourages Penny Noble, executive director of the Bike To Work B.C. Society. “You don’t have to be an athlete. When I was working I used to ride in my suit, high heels and pearls everyday.
“All you need is a helmet.”
Noble came up from Vancouver to help Vernon kick off Bike To Work Week Monday and was impressed with the community’s dedication.
“It’s a lot of greenhouse gas emissions that don’t get emitted. And it’s a lot of people having fun.”
The city’s dedication to make the community more sustainable with bike lanes and trails also impressed Noble.
Vernon Mayor Wayne Lippert says the city has been investing $400,000 a year into infrastructure for such improvements.
“We’re keeping it greener and working to help get more and more people out of their cars,” said Lippert.
Bike to Work Week continues with a mid-week celebration today at B.C. Hydro from 6:30 to 9 a.m.
A celebration station will be also set up Thursday from 7 to 9 a.m. at Armstrong Elementary School.
The week wraps up with a barbecue Friday at 4:30 p.m. at the Vernon Museum and Library Square.
Each celebration station offers the chance for participants to enter to win a new bike and the wrap-up event will also announce the winners of a local school challenge.
W.L. Seaton’s outdoor recreation students have challenged Clarence Fulton’s global education students to get the most participation over the week.
“So although Seaton might have won the actual time in the car versus bike challenge, they may or may not win the greatest participation over the week,” said Wendy Majewski, Vernon’s transportation demand management co-ordinator.
And the cycling challenge doesn’t stop there. Schools will be putting students’ pedal power to the test over the coming years.
“This year and next year we are going to be rolling out cycling as part of PE courses,” said Majewski.
