First snowstorm is about to hit the southern parts of Finland. It is perfect time to talk about cycling! This summer Bilot’s bikers participated Kilometrikisa for the 5th time. The idea of Kilometrikisa is to collect all kilometres spent on cycling to personal page and have a playful contest against other companies, other bilots, and especially: ourselves. The contest time was 1.5- 22.9.2016.
Some historical statistics:
Year 2012 Bilots cycled 14 515 km and saved 1 016 litres of gas! These kilometres would have taken us all the way from Helsinki to Brisbane
Year 2013 We cycled 19 559 kilometres which meant that we cycled across Europe and around Africa. Did not even think the gas – just enoyed the ride!
Year 2014 25 bilots cycled altogether 18 444,6 km
Year 2015 9 996,1 km on a bike. And some memorable moments waiting that the endless rain would move away and let the real summer hit us.
Summer 2016 Bilots worker hard, had serious holiday bliss but it seems that all other moments were spent biking. We broke all our records and biked together 30 734,3 kilometres.
All TOP10 cyclist biked over 1000 kilometres. 29 cyclists recorded their kilometres.
Among all the cheerful bikers there was one clear winner bilot: Juha Leppänen. His bike had well-earned peaceful moment while Bilot News interviewed this tireless biker.
During the summer months you biked amazing 5285 kilometres in only 99 days – average 53 km per biking day. How was this possible? Are the kilometres collected mostly by commuting to the office or did you skip all free time activities just to spend quality time with your bike?
Juha: “In reality I biked almost every day, 20-30 km per day. The additional kilometres came from training rides and from my “Tour de France”, when I biked almost all the way from Spain to Switzerland to Germany (some train as well).”
Days are getting darker. Are you a bike commuter 365 days in a year or just a summer cruiser?
Juha: “Last winter I took a small break from cycling for January-February. I tend to have an obsession of coming to work by bike, so it’s just good to give yourself a break at some point.”
What are your top 3 tips for the people who are still not sure if they could be bike commuters?
Juha: “Probably some are afraid of cycling inside the city with all the traffic. In this case, maybe you can try some of the group trainings organized by e.g. Helsingin Polkupyöräilijät to learn rules and practices. There are very easy-going rides with normal bikes so you don’t need to be a pro.”
Our slogan is We stand for more. What does this mean for you?
Juha: “Being honest towards our customers.”
From Monday to Friday you spend a number of hours sitting in the office and then spend some more time in the same position. Do you still think biking is a good balance for office worker?
Juha: “I think mentally it is. Physically, well… currently by right elbow is very sore and I think it’s partly for biking and partly for using mouse. So at least you need to remember to stretch afterwards.”
Top things to keep in mind in bike commuting?
Juha: “Don’t rush, consider other people (pedestrians, cyclists, even cars)”
Tell something non-bikers doesn’t know about bike-commuting:
Juha: “Twice a year (spring and autumn) there is free breakfast in Helsinki for cyclists, organized by Helsingin Polkupyöräilijät.”
