Bike Commuter Challenge
Chicago's annual Bike Commuter Challenge is a month-long spring competition that gets newbies and veteran riders commuting by bike — prizes, bragging rights included.
The vibe
Commute smarter, win stuff
The Bike Commuter Challenge is Chicago’s annual nudge to get people on bikes for the trips they’re already making. For one month each late spring or early summer, riders log their bike commutes, rack up points, and compete — against colleagues, against other companies, against their own personal record of excuses not to ride.
It’s explicitly welcoming to first-timers, which sets the tone. This isn’t a criterium; it’s a community effort to normalize cycling as transportation. Veterans bring the competitive energy, newbies bring the curiosity, and somehow the whole thing turns into a citywide movement that makes May and June feel noticeably more bike-friendly.
Active Transportation Alliance runs the challenge as part of their broader push for better mobility across Chicagoland. Prizes are involved, but the real payoff is the habit — most people who try the challenge find themselves still commuting by bike long after the month is over.