Rossland will celebrate Bike to Work Week at the end of the month.
From Monday, May 30 until Sunday, June 5, Rosslanders are encouraged to bike to work and help raise money for a local non-profit. This year, Bike to Work Week Kootenays is partnering with the West and East Kootenay Brain Injury Association, an organization that provides support and services to individuals and families who are living with an acquired brain injury.
Troy Kusy is among the Rosslanders who have already committed to biking to work, and is also a founder of Bike to Work Week Kootenays.
“What I’m hoping to do is just through Yodel show people how you can easily raise a couple of hundred bucks or a hundred bucks, kind of thing, and if everyone does that then it just promotes the word around Bike to Work Week, but also raises money,” he says.
Kusy is a vice-president at Kootenay Savings and works in Trail. He’ll be cycling 10 km to work each morning, but he’s only planning on biking back up once.
“Well, it’s bike to work,” he says. “Usually I mountain bike to work — so might take Milky Way, might take Green Door, then come through Warfield — then I usually either use public transit, and just use the bike racks on the front, or usually during Bike to Work Week there’s someone that has driven their vehicle from Rossland and I just get a ride with them back up the hill.”
Either way, Kusy is keeping one extra vehicle off the road and reducing his carbon footprint.
Those who would like to do the same can register at biketowork.ca/kootenays and then sign up for the fundraising challenge at btwwkootenays.yodel.org.
There will also be a little West Kootenay vs. East Kootenay fundraising competition going on, so those who sign up should make sure to choose the right region on Yodel. There will be prizes to be won, including gift certificates to Revolution Cycle.
Those who need a little motivation before committing to a week-long cycle commute can check out the Bike to Work Week video or read our story about a Winnipeg man cycling across Canada.