WORKING FROM HOME OR NOT: GET BIKING – was this year’s motto!
This year, 293 Roche employees in 74 teams took part in the Bike to Work initiative. Together, they covered around 122,434 km on their bikes (equivalent to approx. 3.06 times around the world).
In these challenging times it is especially important to stay active, and this is precisely the goal of the Bike to Work initiative organised by Pro Velo Switzerland – which has significantly expanded its capability to record kilometres travelled.
The aim was to cycle to work on at least half of the days worked for a period of one or two months, and the great thing about this year was that private bike rides made on days when employees worked from home could also be entered in the initiative’s calendar.
At Roche, the organiser was once more the Roche Employees Association (AVR) with the support of the Site Mobility Team: “With this initiative, we wanted to motivate employees to include more physical activity in their daily lives while doing their bit to protect the environment,” explains AVR President and Bike to Work coordinator Adnan Tanglay.
In May and June, the Roche riders cycled an average of 86% of their weekly commute, racking up 122,434 km and cutting CO2 emissions by around 18 tonnes.
This year, the winning team was Ambiziosi (Adamo Paolo, Dave Herzig, Werner Fischer and Pablo Kuhn), who covered an impressive 4,654 km. In second place was On yer bike! (Angela McTaggart, Linnea Franssen and Patricia Stahn) who truly lived up to their name, travelling a total of 2,771 km. Third place went to Biking interns on tour (Rebecca Kiok, Mike Dang Thai, Leonard Jahnke and Pia Sailer) who cycled 2,640 km.
In the individual category Adamo Paolo emerged victorious, having covered 1,919 km. Dave Herzig came in second with 1,543 km while Rebecca Kiok won third place with 1,055 km.
And when it came to the team names, the participants really showed off their creative sides once again: teams such as Äm Papagei sis Teebütäli!, Turboschnecken, Bikenudeln, Bike to Launch, Roadrunners and Feel The Wheel took part in the challenge.
We’re especially pleased that Rasmus Hvarregaard, Stephanie Kueng and Linnea Franssen each won individual prizes in the official competition run by the Bike to Work organisation, while in the team category “FanTe zu Voll” and “Numme net huddle” were among the victors. The AVR sends its congratulations to the lucky winners!
As a thank-you, the Site Mobility Team and the AVR Executive Committee would like to invite participants to an informal gathering. The AVR Bike to Work team will inform participants about the event as soon as the situation permits.
written by Nicole Drexler, AVR Assistant
