During the first coronavirus lockdown, cycling in the UK increased by 300% and many people reported finding quieter roads much more enjoyable to ride on.
The roads are likely to be quieter this December too, so there has never been a better time to try riding in winter.
Love to Ride have launched their Winter Wheelers campaign to encourage people to ride during December.
With the right gear and guidance, they believe, riding in winter can be just as much fun and even more rewarding than riding at other times of the year.
Simply, Winter Wheelers encourages people to ride during December, with prizes on offer every day from 1st to 25th December for anybody that logs a ride.
Love to Ride has teamed up with three top cycling brands – Proviz, Loffi and Beryl – to offer the three, winter cycling ‘must-haves’ – lights, gloves and hi-viz – as prizes.
There are daily draws with participants invited to log their rides by 15:00 the following day, with the winner announced between 17:00-18:00.
As well as winter cycling gear, there’s also the chance to win daily £15 vouchers for local independent Suffolk bike shops.
In addition, there are two bike prizes up for grabs.
Everyone who registers before the end of November will go into the draw for a £750 local bike shop voucher to spend in the independent store of their choice. Then on Christmas Day, everyone who has logged a ride in December will go into the draw to win an e-bike.
With these fantastic prizes on offer and so many physical and mental health benefits of riding a bike, there really has never been a better time to try riding in winter.
The 3 easy steps to taking part in Winter Wheelers are:
1. Register at www.lovetoride.net/Suffolk
2. Join your company or invite your workplace and/or cycling club to register
3. Log rides manually in December or connect your favourite cycling app (Strava or MapMyRide). Rides will be recorded automatically and it will sync your last 30 days of riding!
You can also get involved via social media by sharing pictures, rides and stories using the hashtag #WinterWheelers (spot prizes will be awarded for outstanding posts!).
Love to Ride enables members to set goals, track distance, earn badges, share photos and stories and encourage others to ride, as well as allowing workplaces to incentivise their staff to ride and monitor cycling participation at their sites.
