Bike Challenges are fun, inclusive – OSU Sustainable Transportation News

Bridget Klest, a Clinical Associate Professor at Oregon State University, is a self-described “sometimes” rider on her trike. When a student ambassador with her department was putting together a team for the ZAP Spring Bike Challenge, Bridget was interested but not sure if it was for her.

“I am often left out of physical and sports-related activities,” she explains. “Because of disabilities related to balance and mobility, I am a pretty slow rider.”

But when Bridget looked at the rules of the Challenge, she got a nice surprise. “With ZAP I am able to fully participate because it is just about whether you ride to campus, not how fast you are or how far you go,” she reports. ZAP tallies daily rides to campus, and ZAP Bike Challenges measure the total number of rides amassed by each registered team across a month’s time. The three teams that log the most rides win.

Bridget decided to join her department’s team, Psych Bike, for the Spring Bike Challenge. The team placed in the 2024 Spring Bike Challenge, with Bridget contributing seventeen ZAPs to their success. She and the team celebrated with ice cream at the ZAP awards ceremony in June. And riding offers other benefits too.

“It is really good for my physical and mental health,” Bridget explains. “I have to do certain exercises and stretches every day because of my disabilities, and riding warms up my muscles and get my body ready to do my stretches more effectively.”

Active commuting offers a chance to engage fully with the moment. “When I ride my trike I don’t listen to music or podcasts,” says Bridget. “I just listen to the sounds around me, and sometimes I am surprised by how quiet it is. When there is a breeze it carries sounds and smells and I love feeling the wind on my face. And I also love it when other bikers smile or say hello!”

If you’re thinking about biking to OSU and are on the fence, Bridget has some words of encouragement. “Even if, like me, you are not able to ride a traditional bike or do it in a traditional way, you still might be able to find something that works for you. Also, depending on where you live it can be just as fast or faster to bike than to drive, even if you are a slow biker like me, when you factor in all the time it takes to park and get to your building. When you bike you can usually pull right up to wherever you are going.”