Aotearoa Bike Challenge wants to get Kiwis on their bikes in February

In the Aotearoa Bike Challenge, individuals and organisations nationwide will compete to see who can get the most people riding a bike. Photo / Supplied

If your New Year’s resolutions included exercising more, the Aotearoa Bike Challenge could be the event to get you on your bike turning those words into reality.

Now in its seventh year, the free month-long challenge, organised in collaboration with the global platform Love to Ride, encourages Kiwis to make everyday trips by bike during February.

The goal is to clock up the most kilometres travelled by bike — individually or with a group — with the chance to win prizes. All participants have to do is get on their bikes and then log their rides online.

It doesn’t matter if you ride every day or haven’t been on a bike for years, participants can ride anywhere any time — just a 10-minute ride is enough to take part. So far, more than 6800 people and 1300 organisations have signed up to get pedalling from February 1.

All types of rides count, whether that is the commute to and from work, the trip to the dairy to grab the milk you forgot to get at the supermarket, or a weekend ride exploring New Zealand’s cycle trails.

Dating back to 1898, the Hauraki Rail Trail is one of New Zealand's oldest railway corridors and travels through some breathtaking scenery including Karangahake Gorge. Photo / Supplied

Waikato participants will be spoilt for choice with the latter since it is home to numerous scenic cycle trails including the recently completed Te Awa River Ride, the Timber Trail and Hauraki Rail Trail.

Participants can get bonus points for encouraging someone else to get on their bike as well.

For the challenge last year, the organisers together with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), set the goal to clock up a total of 1 million kilometres of bike rides.

Kiwis then reached the goal with three days to go and ended up logging a total of 1,166,799 kilometres of rides, which resulted in an immediate carbon saving of 211,291 kilograms.

Prizes for the local and national challenge winners include a cycling jacket, a pizza oven and a holiday worth up to $3000.

The 2023 Aotearoa challenge runs from February 1 to February 28 and has the backing of Hamilton City Council and Waikato Regional Council. For more details and how to sign up visit lovetoride.net.