Community comes together for first-ever KAUST Bike Week

From February 11 to 16, the community took part in the first-ever KAUST Bike Week. Over the course of six days, the community collectively cycled over 11,250 km, or the same distance as from Jeddah to South Carolina, U.S., which is the equivalent of 1,400 kg CO₂ emissions.

The idea for Bike Week first sparked last August with inspiration from similar events like the World Bike Tour, which started in Lisbon.

“People really grabbed onto the idea,” said Ana Margarida Costa, sustainability specialist at HSE. “We wanted the community to have fun, but also to encourage sustainable transportation and change behaviors.”

The event was a joint collaboration between the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) department and Community Life with support from the Sustainability Committee, the Security Department, the Red Sea Cyclists Self-Directed Group (SDG), Coastline recreation team, the KAUST Volunteer Fire Department, CAS (Community, Action, Service) volunteers from the KAUST School, the Corporate Social Responsibility Team and Banaweer Bicycles. All of the collaborators worked together to pave the way for a safe and successful Bike Week set to become a yearly tradition.

“We’re still seeing the positive effects of Bike Week with more people cycling around campus now. It was a really nice way to bring the community together. The atmosphere on the weekend was fabulous,” Nicki Talbot, manager of Community Engagement at Community Life, added.

Bike Week encouraged cyclists to check in around 2,000 times at energizing stations spread across campus during the week and motivated 120 competitors to take on the 25 and 50km Bike Race before clearing the way for the Family Bike Tour where 300 participants cycled a 5km route.

During Bike Week, the community was encouraged to hop on their bikes and “Bike to Work, Bike to School, Bike to Play.” The increased numbers of cyclists on the road was obvious, but no more so than at the Gardens Elementary School where bike racks were full nearly every morning. The Safety Team from HSE was on hand to carry out safety checks for students arriving at school.

During Bike Week, the Red Sea Cyclists SDG offered training sessions for cyclists looking to build up their confidence and skills before the weekend. The group also helped with planning the race route as well as the start and finish logistics. Banaweer Bicycles supported the event by offering bicycles for rent, offering free maintenance prior to Bike Week, hosting a stall at the Bike Fair and donating bikes for the Grand Raffle. The Coastline recreation team manned the energizer stations throughout the week keeping cyclists hydrated and happy with drinks and energy bars. Coastline recreation staff also supported the event with check in logistics at the race and tour as well as keeping the excitement going with activities and stalls at the Bike Fair.

However, it was important to make the event fun and safe. The Security team helped plan and secure the route, as well as lead the Family Bike Tour from the front. Coinciding with the event, the Security Department launched the new Bicycle Patrol, introducing two members of the security team carrying out their patrols on newly designed black and white bicycles. “The Security Department had a real ‘yes’ attitude when we approached them for help with the event,” Nicki Talbot said.

On the day of the Race and Tour, the cycling atmosphere was in full swing with a high-speed (around 42km/hr for the 50km group) race kicking off at 7:00 a.m. In the 50km race, Heiko Langner and Kelly Maclarn took first place and in the 25km race, Silvio Giancola and Sabrine Varenkamp finished first in the male and female races. During the race, the KAUST Volunteer Fire Department, the CAS volunteers and the Coastline recreation team acted as marshals on the course.

Heiko Langner, winner of the 50 km Bike Race and President of the Red Sea Cyclists SDG, described Bike Week as “heartening and well-organized.”

“As a regular road cyclist it was really exiting to see so many entrants in the 25 and 50 km race. The vibe at the start and finish was fantastic,” Keith Johnstone, board member of the Red Sea Cyclists SDG, added.

A few hours later, the Family Bike Tour warmed up with a stretching routine led by KAUST Recreation mascot, Sharky and around 10:00 a.m. the Bike Tour riders started peddling away.

The Bike Tour participants also included 30 students from neighboring Thuwal who were provided bikes to use during the tour by Banaweer.  The visiting riders had a great morning, learning some essential road awareness skills from the pre-ride support of Banaweer and the Health & Safety team while also experiencing the benefits of environmentally friendly transport.  The Bike Week organizers worked with Social Responsibility to co-ordinate their participation. Ana Manjua Viegas, Community Engagement Specialist with Social Responsibility, said: “Part of Social Responsibility’s remit is to promote environmental education and sustainability within the Thuwal community, and the 5k Bike Ride was a perfect opportunity to combine the two in a fun activity. Thanks to everyone involved for enabling our Thuwal neighbors to take part.”

“During the week, the idea was for the community to get engaged in cycling and on the weekend, it was all about celebrating cycling. The fact that the roads were closed and there were no cars was great,” explained Ana Margarida Costa.

The excitement of the week culminated in a Bike Fair complete with bike stalls, a bike maintenance stand, a bike driving school, decorated helmet competition, slowest bike race, RPM/Schwinn demonstrations, food trucks, bouncy castles and the announcement of the Grand Raffle winners.

Bike Week brought out a sense of cycling spirit and environmental awareness in the community, reducing the University’s carbon footprint and hopefully leading to more sustainable transportation choices long-term.

If Bike Week inspired you to take up cycling regularly, why not join the Red Sea Cyclists Community Club! Join on-campus mountain bike rides every Wednesday evening and periodic off-campus “outrides” on Friday mornings (for more advanced riders.) Contact Alma Hobson to find out more about membership.