For once Sitka had a bit of winter weather on International Winter Bike To Work/School Day, but there still were some hearty souls who braved the high winds, rain, hail, snow, ice and cold to ride their bikes on Feb. 10.
Our numbers were down a bit compared to past years, but more than a dozen cyclists filled out tickets at Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop to be entered into our local prize drawing. There were a couple of full bike racks around town, so more people probably rode than entered. We only had a couple of people register to ride on the international website, so Sitka didn’t do as well in the overall standings as it has in past years. In 2014, Sitka finished second in per capita number of riders.
The top community for the third straight year was Zagreb, Croatia, with 611 riders. Novi Sad, Serbia, took second place for the second straight year with 434 riders, followed by Umeå, Sweden, with 388 cyclists; 2014 winner Oulu, Finland, with 338 bikers; and Saint Petersburg, Russia, rounded out the top five with 320 cyclists. Rounding out the top 10 were Ljubljana, Slovenia, with 267; Copenhagen, Denmark, with 228; Nazilli, Turkey, with 207; Porsgrunn, Norway, with 199; and Montréal, Quebec, Canada, with 175 as the top North American city. Minneapolis was the top U.S. city with 117 riders.
Here are the prize winners from Friday (winners can pick up their prizes at Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop):
- Brian Weddel — set of bike lights from Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop
- Steve Gage — reflective rain jacket from Sitka Community Hospital
- Brett Wilcox — long-sleeve t-shirt from Sitka Conservation Society
- Bill Foster — short-sleeve t-shirt from Sitka Conservation Society
- Alyssa Russell — water bottle from SEARHC
Thank you to those who rode, and to the businesses that donated prizes.
The Sitka Cycling Club 