STATELINE, Nev. — More than 300 Lake Tahoe residents biked about 40,000 miles in June, a distance equivalent to traveling from Tahoe to San Francisco and back 100 times, as part of the 16th annual Tahoe Bike Challenge.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition teamed to produce the friendly competition that encourages individuals and teams to track trips and miles on their bikes.

The 16th anniversary challenge took place during the COVID-19 pandemic for a second year. While Bike to School events were again canceled, the Bike Challenge still attracted hundreds of participants around the lake.

South Lake Tahoe kicked off this year’s challenge with the annual bike path cleanup. Almost 50 volunteers picked up 250 pounds of trash, including 2,500 cigarette butts and over 2,000 plastic pieces, along three miles of bike path in the city. The 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 Tahoe Bike Challenge website http://www.lovetoride.net/Tahoe helped participants log their trips and miles during the month-long competition. Winners received prizes donated from local businesses around the lake.

In the team category, a group of TRPA employees won the challenge by racking up a combined 2,446 miles.

“The Shiftless Cranks are stoked to win the 2021 Tahoe Bike Challenge,” said Mason Bindl, captain of the winning team. “I’m proud of our team managing an average of 244 miles and 19 days ridden per teammate. For me, the Bike Challenge has been the catalyst to getting outside every day. It has helped me build that daily habit of exercise and enjoying the Tahoe outdoors. I am looking forward to many more rides this summer, after a strong start in June. Thanks to the event organizers.”

There were also several individual winners, who outrode the competition to place in 10 different individual categories.

Heather Benson, winner in the Top Female Rider category, appreciates the Tahoe Bike Challenge because “it’s not about speed, but is all about riding your bike as much as possible. The challenge encourages everyone to ride more and to ride bikes that they have never ridden before.”

This year, Benson was determined to complete the challenge after suffering a mountain biking injury last year. Sure enough, in addition to her individual win, Benson’s team, “Out for a Rip” logged 2,637 miles and placed second overall.

Other individual winners include:

Top Rider and Top Male Rider – Ken Corcoran

Top Rider (most miles) – Dominique Westlake

Most Trips – Emily Sears

Top Female Rider – Heather Benson

Top Encourager – Sherry Hao

Top Commuter – Beth Aiton

Top Male New Rider – James Martin

Top Female New Rider – Kelsey Cooper

Most Rides with Kids – Paul Amato

Check out the team and individual results at lovetoride.net/tahoe/event_results.

The 16th annual Tahoe Bike Challenge was made possible by sponsors from Crystal Bay Casino, South Shore Bikes, Tahoe Tie Dye, Bike the West, Bliss Experiences and Lake Tahoe Yoga, Sports LTD, Verde Mexican Rotisserie, Free Bird, Ernie’s Coffee Shop, Heavenly Mountain Resort and Clean Tahoe.