Bay Area Bike Challenge 2025
30,000 Miles for 30 Years of BTWD
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) partnered with Ride with GPS–an app that helps you log and navigate routes while biking–to create the Bay Area Bike Challenge with the goal of strengthening community bonds and promoting unity across the region.
2024 was the first year of bringing back the Bay Area Bike Challenge after the pandemic. Since it was the 30th Anniversary of Bay Area Bike to Work Day, we set a goal of 30,000 miles. Cyclists around the region exceeded all expectations–by 367% to be exact. The final total for the 2024 Bay Area Bike Challenge was a collective 110,063.8 miles!
For 2025, we knew we wanted to go bigger, so we set the goal at 120,000 miles. Participants blew us away again, clocking a total of 159,204 miles across 15,129 trips, with 959 people signing up to ride.
12 different prizes this year assured that everyone from first-time bikers to the most experienced long-distance cyclists had a chance to win. See below for this year’s illustrious winners:
Most Miles Overall: Paul Ashton, Alameda County - 2,312 miles
Most Trips: Jay Gardner, San Francisco County - 116 trips
Most Creative Route (Shape): Anna Maria Irion, San Francisco County
I’m falling in love with you
Most Creative Route (Interest Points): Dani Blake, Contra Costa County
Bike to Books in East Brentwood
Raffle Based On Miles #1: Jennifer Fong, San Francisco County
Raffle Based On Miles #2: Phi N., Sacramento County
Raffle Based on Trips: Kathleen Kara Conley, Santa Clara County
Register and Ride Raffle: Jennifer Watters, Contra Costa County
Register and Ride Raffle: Katie Riutta, Santa Clara County
Register and Ride Raffle: Elena Ayers, Contra Costa County
Register and Ride Raffle: Nick Umemoto, Contra Costa County
Register and Ride Raffle: Tasha Trego, Santa Clara County
Technically Most Trips: Tim Oey, Santa Clara County - 138 trips
12 different prizes this year assured that everyone from first-time bikers to the most experienced long-distance cyclists had a chance to win. See below to see this year’s illustrious winners and hear about their Bike Month:
Most Miles Overall: Paul Ashton, Alameda County - 2,312 miles
“I moved over from the UK 2.5 years ago and have found the cycling in the Bay Area fantastic. I decided not to buy a car and commute to work an hour each way 5 days a week now. I also joined the SF Randonneurs and do quite a bit of long distance riding. The first two weekends of May happened to coincide with two 600km (375mile) rides which I thought would be a great start to the Challenge which I also joined last year. I actually cycled about 800 miles in a month more than I'd ever done before trying to keep number 2 and number 3 in the challenge from overtaking me!”
Most Trips: Jay Gardner, San Francisco County - 116 trips
“I love figuring out how to bike anywhere and how to fit everything I need (kids/gear/oversized items) on my bike! I ride regularly with my two kids all around San Francisco (and beyond) and they were especially excited to help make sure I tracked all my rides for the Bay Area Bike Challenge.”
Most Creative Route (Shape): Anna Maria Irion, San Francisco County
I’m falling in love with you
“Perhaps self-evidently, when I first conceived of this idea, it was as a romantic gesture. And it still is one, but now there’s even more to it: while I was riding this route, I really felt how the statement also applies to the entire city of San Francisco. I’ve been in the Bay Area since I was 7 years old, but this is my first time living in the city, and it’s delightful to be on a bike here. It also turns out this would be my last ride before I broke my wrist and was thus unable to ride the final AIDS/LifeCycle. I still joined the ride as a roadie and have spent the past week falling in love with this queer cycling community, too.
But also you - I am falling in love with you.
My favorite parts of mapping out this ride were: touching as many parks as possible, how the Haight just had a perfect spot for a W, and the little loop in Duboce Park for the Y.”
Most Creative Route (Interest Points): Dani Blake, Contra Costa County
Bike to Books in East Brentwood
“I have restarted riding a bike in the last year and I have loved riding outside so much. When I saw the bike challenge I was very excited to join in because it gave me even more incentive to get outside. The highlight ride was definitely my creative route entry. I have come back to reading a few times in my adult life, just like I’ve recently come back to biking. Each time I return to these hobbies, whether it be reading or enjoying the outdoors, it’s like I re-access myself. So when I saw the prompt I knew I wanted to recreate one of my favorite biking ventures: visiting Little Free Libraries all over town! This ride also included stops at the public library and the new Brentwood Barnes and Noble because they are also awesome places to access books in Brentwood!”
Raffle Based On Miles #1: Jennifer Fong, San Francisco County
“I am a High School Principal who both bikes to work and promotes students to bike to school so that we can get fewer cars off the street, to be safer for our community and to reduce carbon emissions and improve our planet. I loved seeing so many people out this year biking, especially when I see women, and people of color. (Mostly I see younger white or Asian men.) I am very proud to have logged 16 rides for Bike to Wherever month. There are very few 50+ year old women out there biking to work.”
Raffle Based on Trips: Kathleen Kara Conley, Santa Clara County
“I am totally stoked! I am a new cyclist who started just this year as a mature rider (in the baby boomer generation) and laid down over 500 miles in my first Bay Area Challenge! Fitter than ever thanks to cycling!”
Raffle Based On Miles #2: Phi N., Sacramento County
“Although I don't live in the Bay Area, I often take the train to do bike rides in the Bay. I'm always inspired by posts from r/BAbike; a great and engaging community. Also, being able to see all the new bike infrastructures built over the last 5 years or so, inspires me to be more proactive in my city to get more people on bikes.”
Register and Ride Raffle: Jennifer Watters, Contra Costa County
“The Bay Area Bike Challenge is a reminder that I can get around to many errands on my bike instead of in my car. And it’s more fun!”
Register and Ride Raffle: Katie Riutta, Santa Clara County
“I joined the Bay Area Bike Challenge because it sounded like a fun way to connect with the biking community as I'm getting back into biking as an adult. Bike highlights from May included riding with friends around the salt ponds at Alviso and coordinating a bike to lunch event for my coworkers!”
Register and Ride Raffle: Elena Ayers, Contra Costa County
“I had a great time riding a shorter course in the Grizzly Peak Century this year! As a busy mom I don’t get to ride as often as I used to, but it’s important to keep doing all the things you love!”
Register and Ride Raffle: Nick Umemoto, Contra Costa County
““I joined the Bay Area Bike Challenge because I love riding my bike and cycling is one of my passions. Every year, I organize a bike to work event for my co-workers so we could ride together to work while stopping at amazing energizing stations.”
Register and Ride Raffle: Tasha Trego, Santa Clara County
“I joined the Bay Area Bike Challenge to boost my cycling mileage and keep the momentum going. One of the highlights from Bike Month was doing my first solo grocery trip by bike. I’m usually too nervous to lock my bike out of sight, but this time I was able to bring it inside the store—making the whole experience feel safer, smoother, and way more rewarding.”
Technically Most Trips: Tim Oey, Santa Clara County - 138 trips
For the second year in a row, Tim Oey has logged far and away the most trips out of any other participant in the Bay Area Bike Challenge. During May he did one 50 mile recreational ride and 137 other rides covering 486 miles that replaced car trips. Alas, since he teaches for Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, he is not eligible to win a cash prize. He clearly loves to ride and hopes he has inspired many to ride more!
Congratulations to all nine counties for a fantastic Bay Area Bike to Work/Wherever Day on Thursday, May 16th and Bay Area Bike to Wherever Days all May! This 30th Anniversary of Bike to Work Day exceeded so many expectations, and here are a few choice statistics:
300+ Energizer Stations hosted throughout the region by Bay Area agencies and advocates on Bike to Work/Wherever Day
6,000+ miles logged by riders as part of the Bay Area Bike Challenge on May 16th alone
775 participants in the Bay Area Bike Challenge
110,000+ miles traversed over nine counties
9,000+ trips logged
367% of the initial Bay Area Bike Challenge goal
All of the participating riders, as well as agencies and nonprofits worked hard to make the Bay Area Bike to Wherever Days a huge success this year, and we congratulate them–the region not only reached our goal, but exceeded it three times over. The determination of the Bay Area’s bike community shines through the inspiring stories during this month. We look forward to continuing to promote unity and encourage cycling throughout the region not just in May but throughout the year.
Odin, winner of the Most Creative Points of Interest route, bravely rode much of the Bay Trail in one ride, with dotted lines demarcating where he had to branch off from the trail either over water or on roads.
There are so many stories in all of these rides, which you can see best by exploring the final leaderboard in a web browser. Here are some highlights of this year’s participants:
Alameda County’s Michael Fretz, our top miles winner, rode an audacious 367 miles in one day! He is a “randonneur,” or a long-distance cyclist.
Incredibly, there was less than a 10-mile difference between 1st place winner Michael Fretz with 1,498.1 miles, and the 2nd place winner Roddy Gilchrist, who rode 1,488.7 miles.
Sonoma County’s 2023 Bike Champion of the Year Bill Petty regularly rides across both Napa County and Sonoma County in a whopping 80-mile round trip commute, even leading the pack on group rides on tortuous hill climbs on his fixed gear BMX bike.
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition's Tim Oey recently retired from working full-time for the nonprofit and spent his newly found free time taking over 100 trips all around the Bay.
Our winner for Most Creative Design went to Lisa Winter, who created an astoundingly accurate map in the shape of Beavis’ head, saying “As a child my mom and I would watch Beavis and Butthead.”