Gearing up for the 'Bike Month Challenge'

Sunderland residents are being encouraged to get on their bikes throughout May.

Throughout next month, riders around the globe will be forming teams and trying to ride to the top of the leader boards as part of the Bike Month Challenge from Love to Ride.

Sunderland City Council has teamed up with cycling platform Love to Ride to encourage residents to cycle for health, wellness and sustainability. The challenge is not about who rides the most miles; it's about experiencing the joys of riding a bike.

The Bike Month Challenge aims to get Sunderland's communities and businesses to compete against each other in a friendly and social competition. A total of 11 Workplaces and 144 people (including 29 people who were new to cycling) across Sunderland have already signed up to the challenge and are sharing their reasons for taking part on the platform.

Sunderland City Council's Executive Director of City Development, Peter McIntyre, said: "There's never been a better time to enjoy riding a bike, especially at this time of year when we are starting to see some nicer weather.

"This year we are running our swim, bike, run programme to create more opportunities for people to take up swimming, cycling and running on the back of some of the exciting sporting activities we've got lined up this summer.

"Events like the Tour of Britain, British Triathlon and the Tour Series are all coming to Sunderland in 2022 and we hope they will inspire residents to get on their bikes and take part in the challenge."

The Bike Month Challenge will run from 1 - 31st May 2022. To take part you can register for free at lovetoride.net. You only have to ride for 10 minutes to start working towards your pledge and be in with a chance to win prizes.

Once you register you can start logging your bike rides, set goals to provide greater motivation and earn prize draw entries every time you ride.