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Abbotsford cyclists participate in Bike to Work week

More than 2,200 kilometres have been logged by 750 riders
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Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun led a couple dozen cyclists on a ride through Abbotsford Tuesday to mark Bike to Work Week.

A couple dozen commuter cyclists and Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun pedalled through Abbotsford as Bike To Work Week continued in the Fraser Valley.

The cyclists pedalled from LifeCycles Bike Shop to the Canadian Tire Celebration Station for snacks and coffee before cycling to their own workplace Wednesday.

Braun led the ride, saying: “Biking is a great way to help make ourselves feel better and make our community a better place to live, work and play.”

So far this year, Bike to Work Week has broke its previous participation records, with the numbers continuing to climb. In the Fraser Valley there are already 750 riders registered, along with 26,000 riders registered province-wide.

Bike to Work Fraser Valley has challenged Bike to Work Nanaimo to a competition to see which organization can get the most riders registered, the most kilometres logged, and save the most kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions.

As it stands today, Nanaimo has 686 riders registered and 4,700 kilometres cycled, while Fraser Valley’s 750 participants have cycled 2,200 kilometres.

“We won’t know who truly ‘wins’ until after the event, once everyone has logged all of their kilometres cycled. There are still 5 more days for people to register and they have an extra week after Bike to Work Week to log their kilometres, so this competition is still so close and can go either way,” said Bike to Work Fraser Valley program co-ordinator Terri-Lynn Gifford.

This year, registered participants have an opportunity to enter to win a lot of great prizes including a Grand Prize of a Cycling Trip Tour for two from Prague to Budapest.  To be eligible to win any of the prizes, participants register for free at www.biketowork.ca. If people cannot cycle to work or school, they can cycle to run errands, meet friends for coffee, or anywhere else that they’d normally drive to in order to qualify for the prize draw.

“The goal is to cut down the use of a vehicle during Bike to Work Week and use a bike instead,” says Gifford. “We hope people discover that biking to get where they need to go is enjoyable.”

For more information about the bike ride, or about Bike to Work Week, visit www.biketowork.ca/fraser-valley.