Why ride a bike or walk and pay for it? What do people appreciate about the Bike to Work challenge?

“I cycle and walk all year round, I don’t know why I should sign up for your challenge. And pay for it?” These are the comments we read every year before the start of the May Challenge to Work by Bike, Scooter, Walk or Jog. Read a few reasons why 26,000 registered participants joined the event last year. Why do they think it is worth it to travel for the whole month, mainly without an engine, and, moreover, as part of the Cycle to Work challenge?

Of course, you can cycle or walk around the city without us. And if you do, we have no choice but to thank you on behalf of our association and your city. The Bike to Work Challenge is an increasingly popular team-building activity, and 79% of participants have their entry fees paid by their employers. The remaining fifth pays for it themselves. Why? We have listed the most common reasons that appear in our participant questionnaires.

1. They enjoy it (teasing each other and teasing each other in the team, competition, joint events, trips, breakfasts, statistics, parties…).
2. They enjoy the original organic cotton T-shirt from leading Czech designers (Markéta Černá, Petr Kněžek aka VonSaten and Šárka Blažková, Jan Charvát, formerly Toy_Box, Jaromír 99,), which directly encourages them to meet others.
3. They feel part of an active community that embraces an active lifestyle and want to show it
4. Participating in the challenge gives them motivation not to give up, and the new habit lasts even after the challenge ends
5. They can win a bike, a trip, or other valuable prizes for the drawn participants (the smaller the city, the greater the chance of winning) and use free shared bikes, various discount events or events completely free of charge.
6. They support the coordinator and founder of the challenge, the AutoMat association, and subscribe to his idea of ​​sustainable mobility in cities (similar to when you buy records by your favorite band or wear a badge of your favorite organization), they want to contribute to the future development and spread of the challenge.
7. Using anonymized data about their routes, they want to support sustainable transport and participate in improving the infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists in their city.
8. They receive a regular batch of information from us about news from sustainable transport and urban planning not only in the Czech Republic, but also about foreign trends and the fight against climate change. They can also join our other events, challenges, petitions, etc., and learn about the possibility of participation.

So, have we convinced you? Have we enticed you? Will you join the Bike to Work challenge?