Workplace events

Here are just a few examples of the type of events that have been taking place in York, with the support of the Cycling City York team.

York Cycle Challenge

Catch up on the latest news from the participants of York's very first cycling challenge by visiting York Cycle Challenge 2011.

The York Cycle Challenge was a fun, free competition to encourage people working or living in York to cycle more. Organisations, departments and teams all competed with one another to see who could get the most staff cycling - even for only 10 minutes - over a two week challenge period. Lots of prizes and incentives were on offer including new bikes and cinema vouchers. Participants logged their trips and inspirational messages on a dedicated website.

Another exciting aspect of the challenge was pitting two great cycling cities against one another. York beat Cambridge in a competition to see who could get the most new cyclists on board.

Workplace Cycle Challenges

A number of the city's largest employers have taken part in Cycling City York's workplace-based cycle challenges over the last three years. Funded by the Cycling City York programme, our Cycle 50% Challenge and Bike Boost initiatives have proved to be extremely popular and always over subscribed.

Organisations taking part included:

2009/10 - Nestle, the University of York and York Hospital

2010/11 - Aviva, City of York Council, York Hospital and the Marriott and Holiday Inn hotels.

Organised in partnership with York-based community interest group, Get Cycling, these schemes work by providing employees with everything they need to enable them to commute safely to and from work by bike - from a new bike with locks and lights to route planning advice and cycle training if needed, plus mentoring support.

In return, staff must aim to cycle to and from work for at least half of the time during the 4-week challenge period. By experiencing the many benefits of cycling first hand, it's hoped that they will continue to cycle to work once the challenge is over - and spread the word to colleagues and friends.

Seventy seven per cent of staff who have so far taken part said they’d be ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to continue cycling in the future, despite the fact that 48 per cent were not regular cyclists beforehand. In total, the participants from Nestlé, York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The University of York, in the first round of the initiative, clocked up 794 journeys by bike during the four-week challenge period, a total of 7,182 return miles - 4,596 of which would otherwise have been made by car.

Before starting the challenge, participants cited not having a bike (14 per cent) and not getting round to it/not being fit enough/having too much to carry (8 per cent) as key reasons why they didn’t cycle. They said they had opted to take part in the challenge to get exercise (27 per cent); because cycling is sustainable (16 per cent) and because cycling is quicker than other modes of transport (12 per cent). Other factors behind their decision to give cycling a try included saving money, having fun and avoiding problems with parking.

At the end of the four-week challenge, participants confirmed that the benefits they got from taking part were more exercise (23 per cent); quicker and more fun journeys (11 per cent) and being ‘greener’ in the way they commute to work. Other top benefits included money saved on parking charges; the fact that their journey was more predictable and less stressful; and the convenience of travelling door to door.

Bike Week 2011

Would your organisation like to be involved in Bike Week 2011?

Find out more about what's happening across the UK this year during Team Green Britain Bike Week from 18th-26th June and how your business can get involved, or register an event yourself, at Bike Week.

Email a friend

Please fill in the form below to email your friend. You may enter multiple email addresses seperated with a comma.

Your friend(s) email address(es):
Your name:
Your email:
Your message:

Tell us YOUR cycling story

See your article or photo published on Cycling City York's website!

If you would like to share your own experience of cycling, we'd love to hear from you. Whether you've just started to cycle or have been riding for years, we'd like to hear your story.

Please tell us briefly what topic you'd like to talk about and what it is you're submitting (article, image, video) and we will be in touch.

Your name:
Your email:
Your message:

_{Note: All articles and images submitted are subject to approval and may be edited. Not all entries will be accepted. You must have consent for the publication of any images/videos submitted.}