The Community League Bike Challenge began with a modest goal. Ask members to get on their bikes, keep track of their distance and see who could ride the farthest.

As an extra incentive, organizers in Ritchie thought about challenging its members to reach 1,922 km, a number chosen for its significance as the year the league was formed.

Friendly competition was introduced with an invite for Hazeldean and Strathcona leagues to participate. And from there it grew and grew. 

By June 30, cyclists from 18 community leagues rode 121,688 km.

“The fact that some people rode 600+ km in a week. That’s unimaginable to me and that’s probably the biggest shocker,” says Dan Tyrkalo, Ritchie’s director of events who laboriously tallied distances for weekly updates.

“All the leagues were very supportive of this event and want to bring it back for next year. They loved the idea of doing a group total achievement as well.”

When 100,000 km was announced in Week 2 as the collective goal for the month, no one knew if it would be reached. In the rearview mirror, it’s obvious organizers can aim for more next year

And yes, the event will be back…if only to give Hazeldean a chance to improve on its sixth place finish;)

Even if COVID-19 pandemic social distancing restrictions, which sparked this event, are unnecessary in 2021, Ritchie plans to make the June Bike Challenge a city-wide tradition.