STATELINE, Nev. — During the month of June, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition teamed up to lead the 15th annual Tahoe Bike Challenge.

Over 300 Tahoe residents and visitors took the challenge and biked 45,442 miles, a distance just shy of circling the Earth twice, according to the organizers.

“Congratulations to all of the winners and riders,” TRPA Transportation Planner Kira Smith said in a press release. “Although this year looked a little bit different, we hope the challenge inspires people to bike and walk through the rest of the year.”

The basin-wide challenge is a friendly competition that encourages individuals and teams to track trips and miles on their bikes. For the 15th anniversary, the event expanded to include the entire month of June instead of just the first two weeks of the month.

South Lake Tahoe kicked off this year’s challenge with the annual bike path cleanup. Almost 50 volunteers picked up 750 pounds of trash along a three-mile section of bike path in the city of South Lake Tahoe. The physically-distanced event was organized by The League to Save Lake Tahoe, Clean Tahoe, and the Bike Coalition to provide clean and safe paths throughout the challenge.

The new Tahoe Bike Challenge website http://www.lovetoride.net/Tahoe helped participants log their trips and miles during the month-long competition. Winners received prizes including a snowboard donated by Jamie Anderson, Vail Resorts ski lift tickets, passes to Blue Granite Climbing Gym, gift certificates from more than 15 local businesses and biking accessories. All of the rankings and photos of people’s experiences are at lovetoride.net/tahoe/event_results.

In the team category, a group of South Tahoe Middle School teachers won the challenge by racking up a combined 3,660 miles.

“The silver lining of the COVID pandemic was our ability as teachers to ride whenever and wherever we wanted and we crushed the Challenge,” said Beth Aiton, captain of the South Tahoe Middle School team.

There were also several individual winners, including new riders who don’t ride regularly, or are returning to the sport after a hiatus. “A special thanks to the Tahoe Bike Challenge for helping me get back into outdoor biking! It started as a competition with friends from work and that was what got me back into a regular routine. Now I’m hooked!” said Cindy Richter, overall winner in the new rider category. “It’s a great way to live a healthy lifestyle and also enjoy a little competition. I can’t wait for the next challenge,” Richter emphasized.

The 15th annual Tahoe Bike Challenge was made possible by sponsors from Vail’s EpicPromise program, Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra, Kiwanis Club of North Lake Tahoe, Thompson Smith Studios, Jamie Anderson, Grass Roots Natural Foods, Shoreline of Tahoe, Olympic Bike Shop, Sierra Ski and Cycle Works, and Bike the West.

Lake Tahoe Bike Challenge organizers hope to see people continue to bike, walk, and ride transit this summer. TRPA and its partners maintain a website dedicated to information about getting around Tahoe without driving at http://www.LinkingTahoe.com.

An interactive bike map can be found at http://www.tahoebike.org/map and paper maps can be found at bike shops and visitor centers throughout Tahoe and Truckee.

The Tahoe Bike Challenge will return in June 2021.

Tahoe Daily Tribune is a sister publication to the Sierra Sun.