NATIONAL RIDE 2 WORK DAY – 2021 WRAP
Released from most of our lockdown restrictions, but still at the mercy of Melbourne’s erratic springtime weather, National Ride2Work Day seemed to catch most people by surprise this year.
Delayed by a month (traditionally Ride2Work Day is held on a Wednesday in mid October), any early hopes for a good weather day were well and truly dashed.
Rain was forecast a week out and rain it did, from the early hours of Wednesday morning right through until early afternoon.
With the rain went our hopes for a jump in rider numbers past our bike counter. After all, who chooses a cold and wet day to trial something new?
By 9am we’d only just managed to brake the 200 rider count. Compare that to the previous day, a very pleasant and sunny Tuesday, when 319 people rode past the counter in the hour from 7am to 8am alone! (Total on Tuesday to 9am was 814 for those playing along at home.)
That was the rain. Now here’s the silver linings…
Everyone who rode on Wednesday did so because they love and appreciate what they get from riding a bike.
We’d like to thank each and every one of you who chose to ride on Wednesday. A big thank you to everyone who was kind enough to take our Ride2Work Day competition flyer and share a few words while waiting for the lights to change. And a really BIG thank you to everyone who remembered and took a couple of minutes to complete our online form for a chance to win a prize.
The main question we asked people to answer was “What’s your favourite part of your ride?”
All of the answers were fabulous and totally relatable (perhaps because we also ride to work?); an honest snap shot of why we ride, despite whatever the weather throws at us. Overwhelmingly, the main themes centred around enjoying the natural environment and associated mental health benefits. Interspersed were themes of exercise, social benefits, avoiding or beating traffic, safety, fun or adventure and, lastly, environmental considerations. Here’s a small selection of those comments (click to enlarge):
The other silver lining – for a few lucky people at least – was winning a prize! By simply riding past our store on Wednesday, taking a flyer and entering our online competition, the following people are winners!
BBB Saddlebag Combipack – valued at $60
• Adriana B, Northcote
• Camille R, Alphington
• Carla C, Thornbury
• Mitchell G, Northcote
• Stuart R, Brunswick
• Tallulah M, Brunswick
BBB Avenger sunglasses – valued at $90
• Gerrard J, North Coburg
• James B, North Melbourne
• Linda M, Northcote
• Reuben M, Carlton North
• Rebecca H, Coburg
• Zara H, Fitzroy North
Velo Cycles Bike Service Voucher – valued at $100
• Gerry M, Bellfield
Congratulations to all our lucky prize winners!
Prize winner or not, we hope this Ride2Work Day inspires you to either keep riding, or to keep sharing why we ride and encourage as many friends, family and colleagues as you can to give it a go. Hopefully next year there will be even more smiling faces, whatever the weather throws our way!
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