Research makes clear the benefits of cross training, and many runners have learned to incorporate it into their training. Some people argue that to run fast you simply need to run more. However, there is a point where one more run could drastically increase your chance for over training or a specific overuse injury. Cross training allows athletes to increase fitness and strength while reducing the risk of injury. Below are several cross training methods that have proven to increase running performance, as well as the best places in Richmond to do these activities.

CYCLING

Cycling is one of the more popular cross training activities. It can increase your ability to have a more powerful run by strengthening key muscles groups and improving your cardiovascular system. Simply put, by getting stronger on the bike you can become a stronger runner.

Cycling is a popular cross training choice for runners.

Key Workout: To gauge progress on the bike, do this test: Warm up for 20 minutes and then do 5 minutes at 95% effort. Take 10 minutes rest and then do 20 minutes at the hardest effort you can sustain for that time. After this, start your cool down. Do this test at the same location each time and record your distance and heart rate if possible to compare progress.

Best Place in Richmond to Cycle: West Creek Parkway is a safe location that many cyclists in the area take advantage of. Just be sure to follow the rules of the road, and watch out for the geese!

SWIMMING

Swimming can be used as a great post-run exercise. It can help loosen up tight areas from your run as well as provide muscular balance. Swimming also increases your lung capacity allowing your fitness reach a higher level.

Key Workout: Do a 500-meter warm up, and then do the following test set: Perform 10 x 100 meters (or yards depending on the pool you are in) with 30 seconds of rest between each interval. These should be done at maximum intensity. Your average pace will allow you to get your threshold swim pace and see if you’re lacking speed over endurance or not.

Pool running is good for injury rehab.

Best Place in Richmond to Swim: The Collegiate School Aquatic Center is located off the Ironbridge exit in Chesterfield. This state of the art swimming facility includes a 50-meter competition pool and a 25 meter instruction pool.

WATER RUNNING

Runners undergoing injury rehab commonly use water running. The exercise allows you to train the running pattern and strengthen key muscles groups without pounding on your body. The key is to do this in deep water and mimic your running form as best you can. Use a flotation belt to get accustom to the technique. Once you get the form down you can remove the belt for a better overall workout.

Key Workout: Do a 15-minute warm up and then 3 x 8 minutes at 80% effort while going as hard as possible for the last minute of each interval. Take 2 minutes easy between intervals and then do a 15-minute cool down.

Best Place in Richmond to Water Run: Any deep-water pool is great for water running.

ANTI-GRAVITY TREADMILL RUNNING

Anti-gravity treadmills are pretty crazy looking, but useful.

Running on an anti-gravity treadmill is a great way to get additional mileage while reducing your chance for injury. This is a specially designed treadmill that allows you to adjust the amount of body weight you run with. You can reduce your body weight by any percentage you would like in order to run at a faster pace or simply run longer with less pounding. This is a great tool to use when rehabbing an injury or simply wanting to increase running fitness by using a running-specific technique.

Key Workout: This is perfect for allowing your body to feel the speed of goal race pace. For example, if training for a 5k you could do a 3.1 mile run at goal race pace and adjust the body weight percentage closer to your actual body weight each time you preform the workout until you run the distance at the pace you desire to run with 100% of your body weight.  Make sure to get a good warm up and cool down during this workout.

Best Place in Richmond to Use an Anti-Gravity Treadmill: Advance Orthopedic has an anti-gravity treadmill that is available for public use. You must call and set up an appointment for someone to show you how the treadmill is operated and then you can schedule the times you would like to use it.

YOGA

It is no secret that runners tend to have very tight muscles, and most running injuries are due to lack of flexibility. Yoga is a great way to improve flexibility while also increasing core control.

Yoga can lead to better results on the trail and road.

Key Workout: Attend a yoga class at a yoga studio for the best instruction.

Best Place in Richmond to Do Yoga: There are many yoga studios in Richmond that are popular for runners. Hot House Yoga is one of the most popular in the area and has classes all day long to accommodate your schedule.

STRENGTH TRAINING

This is an essential component to reaching your running potential. Doing proper strength training exercises allows you to develop muscular balance while strengthening key muscle groups for running. By increasing muscular strength you can become a much stronger runner to a degree. This can also be an essential component to injury prevention.

Key Workout: Do 10 minutes of dynamic warm up exercises like running, jump rope, cycling, etc. You can do body weight exercise anywhere. For example, push-ups, body-weight squats, walking lunges, single leg box squats, split squat, lateral lunges, are all great options. It is best to receive professional instruction before performing these exercises to insure that you have the correct form.

Don’t forget the strength training.

Best Place in Richmond to Strength Train: Endorphin Fitness specializes in strength training for the endurance athlete. Taking one of their eFIT strength training classes is a great way to receive expert instruction and learn key strength exercise to increase running performance.

Bike Walk RVA (a branch of the Sports Backers) is launching the Bike Walk RVA Academy this fall, which is designed to recruit, train, and grow the number of people in Richmond who are effective spokespeople for safe and comfortable walking and biking infrastructure.

The Sports Backers ‘Bike Walk RVA Academy’ will train community members to advocate for new bikeways and safer streets.

The Bike Walk RVA Academy will leverage the momentum built from the upcoming UCI Road Cycling World Championships, Bike Walk RVA’s ongoing Connect RVA campaign, the development of the City’s first Bicycle Master Plan, and additional funding allocated for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in the City of Richmond’s 2014/2015 capital budget.

“There are already a lot of strong voices out there for safe streets and new bikeways,” said Max Hepp-Buchanan, Director of Bike Walk RVA for the Sports Backers. “We simply want to offer them the tools we think are needed to help make our shared vision of a safe, comfortable, and connected region a reality.”

This spring, Richmond City Council and the Mayor’s office passed a City budget that includes $4.5 million to build new bike lanes on Richmond’s streets as well as bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure along the riverfront. The City is also finalizing its first Bicycle Master Plan, which plots out a full network of lanes and paved trails to be built in the coming years.

“Now that we have some real funding and a city-wide plan to start building a network of bikeways and paved trails, we need effective community advocates on the ground making sure these new projects are designed with people age 8 to 80 in mind,” explained Hepp-Buchanan. “You shouldn’t have to be strong and fearless to ride a bike or walk to places you need to go on a regular basis.”

What Franklin St. would look like with a road diet and bike lanes. Credit: Marc Kaplan/Sports Backers

Beginning on October 1, 2014, The Bike Walk RVA Academy will meet once a week through October and November, finishing with a graduation ceremony in December. Though the program is free, entry into the program is competitive and Bike Walk RVA is now accepting applications through September 4.

People of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities are encouraged to apply. Click here to find the full workshop schedule and online application.

Pedestrians enjoy the Roanoke River Greenway, which is over 5 miles long. Credit: Max Hepp-Buchanan

It’s amazing what a 10-foot-wide ribbon of asphalt can do to transform a region. Paved multi-use trails have completely altered the transportation and recreation landscape in cities like Boulder, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. For me, those are the first places that come to mind when thinking about great cities for bicycling on paved trails, but what about Virginia Beach? Or Roanoke?

Or Chesterfield County?

Maybe Chesterfield County is not quite there yet, but they are thinking ahead. A team of county staff are now in the process of developing the county’s new Bikeways & Trails Plan, which will map the future of paved trails and on-street bikeways in the Chesterfield. And they are looking to local leaders like Virginia Beach and the Roanoke region for guidance by touring those locations and meeting with their planners.

I have been fortunate enough to join the Chesterfield County team on their study trips this spring and summer, and I’ve learned a lot about how a well-placed trail, built at the right kind of roadway or property development can make all the difference in how people get around by walking or biking.

Our most recent trip was to the Roanoke area just last week. Roanoke Valley Greenways started planning for multi-use trails back in the mid-1990s, so they are already 20 years ahead of Chesterfield County. Regionally, they boast about 25 miles of greenways and over 80 miles of bike lanes and signed routes. And like many jurisdictions, they started with the low-hanging fruit: the first seven years of trail construction in the Roanoke Valley was focused within parks, along sewer lines, and other existing public rights of way. Then they had to start acquiring new land, which makes things more difficult and expensive.

The Roanoke region has been building greenways for over 20 years. Credit: Max Hepp-Buchanan

But they’ve come a long way in a relatively short amount of time and take a lot of pride in their centerpieces, such as the Lick Run Greenway, which runs from Valley View Mall past an elementary school, through a park, and right into downtown Roanoke. It’s only 3.5 miles long right now, but it does a great job connecting major destinations in an urban environment.

The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission has produced a very useful Bike, Hike, & Bus Map that incorporates bus timetables, the dirt trail network and trailheads, and paved and on- and off-street bikeways. This all-in-one alternative transportation map does wonders to maximize the walking and biking enthusiast’s outdoor experience in the Roanoke Valley region (order yours for free here).

While Greater Richmond doesn’t yet have a map-worthy regional network – with all the work that the City of Richmond and Chesterfield County are doing to become more walking- and biking-friendly – one but can’t help think the future of new greenways in our region is bright.

Our friend Phil Riggan unearths a couple of juicy items in his “Why, Richmond? Why?” column for Richmond.com today. The first will be exciting news for bike commuters — like my wife — who ride to and from downtown from the Southside.

The Manchester Bridge at night. Credit: Wikipedia

Writes Riggan: That’s why I was pleased to see what (Sharon R.) North (public information manager for the City of Richmond Department of Public Works) wrote about bike lanes for the Manchester Bridge. “Our Transportation Engineering Division also is planning to install a bike lane in both directions on the bridge ridge.”

Northbound: From 0.2 mile North of Semmes Avenue to Cary Street

Southbound: From Byrd Street to 0.2 mile North of Semmes Avenue

The bike lane plans are under design, with construction (and paint striping) expected sometime this summer, with a preliminary cost estimate of $80,000, she wrote.

If you’ve ever ridden across the bridge, you know there is little to no shoulder on either side. You can ride in the pedestrian walkway down the middle, as well, but then you’ll have to get off your bike on the south side of the bridge to walk the steps. On a bridge that wide, bike lanes are an easy solution and a serious safety upgrade.

And just below the north end of the Manchester Bridge, Riggan reports, work has begun on a new pedestrian footbridge  — costing nearly $1 million — across the canal from the building that houses The Lofts and Casa Del Barco to the courtyard for Riverside on the James.

The project was delayed at least a year, Riggan writes, but in the past week or so, preliminary work began and now there are large holes in the Canal Walk as the area is being prepared for the new pedestrian bridge. 

The bridge is scheduled to be completed by August, but, North told Riggan, there’s a good chance the project gets extended beyond the August timeframe and that there is a second phase of the project, which will complete the pedestrian enhancements on the north side of the canal. “It has been awarded and we are waiting for the return of the executed contract,” she wrote.

In today’s Times-Dispatch, reporter Graham Moomaw did a good job of summarizing last night’s meeting on the city’s proposed plan to turn Floyd Avenue into a “Bike Boulevard.”

Part of a bike boulevard in Los Angeles. Credit: LAstreetsblog.com

Wrote Moomaw: About half of the intersections in a 2-mile stretch of Floyd Avenue would be impacted by traffic circles and curb extensions under a bicycle boulevard design unveiled Tuesday night. The Floyd proposal, presented to a crowd of more than 300 people at the Virginia Historical Society building, would feature 10 traffic circles and four curb extensions, also known as bump-outs or chokers, to slow vehicular traffic and create a more welcoming thoroughfare for bicyclists and pedestrians. The new measures would replace traffic signals and stop signs, though north-south traffic approaching Floyd would still have to stop.

In reading the article, I was under the impression that the proposed plan had changed a good bit since the previous public meeting in the spring, so I called Jacob Helmboldt, the city’s bike, pedestrian and trails coordinator, for a little clarification.

He said that in fact that, while they’ve been continually tweaking the plan based on public input, it hasn’t really changed all that much. Take the concept of so-called traffic diverters, or places where motor vehicle traffic would be forced to turn off of Floyd.

“That’s been one of the big issues where there’s been tons of disinformation,” Helmboldt said. He said an earlier T-D piece featured a comment “that every couple of blocks traffic would be diverted off of Floyd. That was never the plan, but that’s what kind of stuck in people’s minds. Some people were even under the impression that we were closing it entirely to motor vehicle traffic. Diverters are a tool of last resort to be used only if it was determined that people were returning to Floyd.”

Under the current plan, a diverter could be put in at Floyd and Morris, but has yet to be decided on.

This bike boulevard is in Long Beach, Calif.

Helmboldt added that, in general, public sentiment has moved toward supporting the bike boulevard concept as more accurate information about what it is and isn’t has taken hold.

“I would say it’s definitely moved more in the positive direction,” he said. “Before it was ‘I want to support it, but…’ Last night, once people were able to see the specific recommendations…it put a lot of concerns to rest and solidified the support. You’ll always have some opposition, but I really didn’t hear much afterwards (in opposition). I wasn’t getting an earful on anything.”

Helmboldt said the project could cost around $500,000, with $100,000 being paid by the city and the rest from state grant funding. But they won’t get too much farther down the road on planning and design until they get a sense that there’s enough support from city council.

Last night’s meeting was held by City Council President Charles R. Samuels, 2nd District, Councilman Jonathan T. Baliles, 1st District, and Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, 5th District, all of whose districts contain a section of the proposed bike boulevard.

Should the project go forward, Helmboldt said, construction would likely begin in early 2015, and the work could be completed by the end of next summer.

A successful triathlon requires much preparation.

So you want to race a triathlon or maybe you want to race a triathlon better. There are more moving parts to think about while you compete than you have fingers and toes. Trying to keep on top of everything can seem like a daunting task, even to the seasoned veteran (or pro triathlete).

I’ve been racing for a few years now and am in my second season of racing as a professional triathlete. I have made my fair share of mistakes leading up to races and on the race course. I would like to share a few of my stories with you so that you can avoid my bone-head mistakes and enjoy a more stress-free race experience!

When you think about the most important gear you need for training and racing you might include goggles, a bike, running shoes, and a helmet. But how do you transport all of this essential gear with you? Maybe you’re driving and have a few duffel bags and you break down your bike so everything can fit in your car. Yeah, well, when you break down your bike you should think to include the front wheel when packing the car. Or you could drive 10 hours to your destination, begin the unpacking process only to have your heart sink to your toes once you’ve realized you have no front wheel and need a Plan B very fast!

In that same vein, you might have some electronics on your bike. Maybe you use a bike computer or power meter. How long has it been since you’ve charged those or replaced the battery? If one of those pieces of awesome technology goes dead on you the day before the race or even race morning, you’ve got real problems. Did you remember to bring extra batteries or the wall charger?

How well have you planned your transition area?

I’ve forgotten both. I’ve even found my electronic shifting system dead before a race, forgotten the charger, and had to scramble around town for hours trying to find someone to charge up my new-fangled bike!

Maybe remembering a wheel is easy enough, and you don’t use all the widgets and gadgets when you train and race. But, did you decide race morning it will be faster to transition with shoes on your bike because someone in the port-o-john line was talking about saving a few seconds? Or maybe you brought new nutrition to the race because you read online the week before about trying an all honey-and-water nutrition strategy will help you get the carbs in that you need. Yes, oh yes. I’ve done these both. I’ve tried flying mounts on my bike with no practice in a race and watched as my bike shoes flew off 20 feet off the road. I have tried an all-honey-and-water nutrition strategy without ever attempting it in training before. Neither situation worked out well for me.

Here is an easy one I’ve ignored on a dozen occasions… not checking my brakes before the race. Maybe something got moved around on the drive over? Nah, not my bike I thought. Then half way through the bike course everyone for a 10-mile radius could hear my super awesome race wheels screaming under the pressure of a shifted, and very stuck, brake pad.

Do you love your bike this much? You might need to.

Have I convinced you yet that I’ve made a few errors in judgment before? I’ve got an even better one. One time, the forecast called for 70 degrees and sunny, so I only packed my ‘hot’ gear. Never did I assume that the forecast would change over the next few days to become much colder, 40s and low 50s, with pouring rain and a water temperature in the same range.

Not only was I so cold that I was shaking, my fingers froze around my brakes and I was unable to let go of my bike for a few minutes, then I couldn’t use my fingers well enough to unbuckle my helmet. I had to start running with my helmet because I didn’t pack gloves and arm warmers just to be safe.

Through all of the mistakes I’ve made and continue to make while racing and training I have boiled everything down to two principles: patience and planning. You can figure everything out, in time. You will remember all of your gear if you plan ahead and make a checklist. You will know what nutrition will work when you plan for race day during your training. You will know your bike is ready to race when you plan ahead to check it over. It takes patience to plan but it’s worth it. I might mess it up a lot, but it’s learning from these mistakes that has gotten me this far.

Richmond is quickly becoming a hotbed for endurance athletes. In addition to the upcoming 2015 UCI World Cycling Championships, Richmond also boasts an international-caliber off-road triathlon (XTERRA, happening June 15^th), one of the nation’s largest 10k races, a top-notch junior elite triathlon event, the immensely popular Dominion Riverrock, and countless other running, cycling, and multi-sport events.

Fortunately for this great community, the Richmond area also boasts some great spots to train for the above races. Below are a few of my favorite training spots, and how I use them to build fitness. Whether you’re a cyclist, runner, adventure racer, or triathlete, you’ll likely find that one or more of these venues provides you with some worthwhile (and fun) training options.

A group ride can be a good way to up the intensity of a workout. Credit: Endorphin Fitness

Belle Isle

What/Where: Most Richmonders have been out to Belle Isle for one reason or another. It sits in the middle of the James within sight of downtown, making it a quick and easy getaway for city dwellers. The footbridge on Tredegar Street (near Brown’s Island) provides access.

How I Use It: One time around the main loop on Belle Isle is almost exactly a mile and features forgiving packed gravel and a small climb on each loop. When I’m training for a half marathon, I do a workout called “Belle Isle Miles,” which I structure as a fartlek workout. Fartlek IS a real word, and usually refers to any workout where a runner is alternating between faster and slower running in some kind of structured manner. I do my fartlek on Belle Isle by alternating one loop of the island at half marathon race pace (“tempo” effort) with a loop at steady, everyday running pace. This workout allows me to pile up a good chunk of mileage and practice race effort in manageable pieces.

Old Gun Road West

What/Where: On the south side of the river, Cherokee Road eventually turns into Old Gun road if you head west. The west side of Old Gun provides cyclists with a 2-3 mile climb of varying steepness.

How I Use It: Working against gravity allows many riders to reach an effort level that is difficult to achieve on the flats. To that end, I like to do 5-6 minute repeats up this stretch of Old Gun at a relatively high intensity, then spin easy back downhill as recovery. Start with 2-3 trips up the road for the duration of your choice. As you build fitness, increase the number and length of the repeats. Old Gun is relatively narrow and has a couple of sharp bends near its bottom, so ride heads-up and be considerate of other riders and drivers.

Robious Landing Park

What/Where: Robious Landing Park is just off Robious Road, near James River High School. The park hosts the popular I Love the Tavern Triathlon late in June each year. The park has river access and a network of shaded gravel running trails.

Credit: Endorphin Fitness

How I Use It: The park is one of the area’s most popular spots for open water swimming because the river is relatively wide and the current is usually weak. Nevertheless, swimming a certain distance upriver usually takes twice as long as the same trip downriver. I make this work for me by turning this into another “fartlek” effort: I swim hard upriver for an interval of 5-10 minutes (choose a time with which you are comfortable), swim back to my starting point, and repeat. This workout replicates the conditions I face in open water swim races, where I am often forced to go between hard efforts and recovery efforts. ALWAYS be safe when swimming in the river. Never swim alone. Ideally, have a friend alongside you on a kayak or paddleboard. Wear a brightly colored swim cap so you are visible to boats and from the shore. Avoid swimming after heavy rains or when river levels are too high for your swim ability.

The James River Park Trail System

What/Where: We all know it’s there, most of us have been on it, and you can access the James River Park trail system from anywhere between downtown and the Nickel Bridge, on both sides of the river.

How I Use It: Every time I run Northbank Trail, I reach the spot where you can see the Richmond skyline, and think how lucky we are to have such a beautiful and extensive trail system in Richmond. I’ve literally never had a bad run on the trails. If you’re tired of plodding through your neighborhood, make a trip to the trails, enjoy the peace and quiet, and explore. You can run as long as you want to run without having to see the same thing twice. Alternately, pick a route, make it your own, revisit it often, and test yourself. When I’m feeling my oats, I hammer my favorite loop of Buttermilk/North Bank and see how fast I can cover it. The feeling of running fast on your favorite stretch of trail is like nothing else.

These are just a few ideas to try. Explore on your own and see what your neck of the woods has to offer. Always be safe, and always be courteous of your fellow athletes, other vehicles, and your environment.

What are you doing tomorrow night? If the answer is, “Hmmm, not sure,” here’s a thought: See a sweet movie and give to a good cause.

Our good friends at Richmond Cycling Corps — a local non-profit that provides leadership and personal development to Richmond’s urban youth through the sport of cycling — are putting on an outdoor movie night and party at their Scott’s Addition. The party starts at 7:30 p.m., the movie at 8:30, and the price, which includes popcorn, is just $7.

What’s the movie, you ask? The RCC crew will be screening Singletrack High, “a one of a kind film about high school age mountain bike racers competing in National Interscholastic Cycling Association events.” All the proceeds will help fund the Armstrong High School cycling team. Started by RCC in late 2013, Armstrong’s is the nation’s first inner-city high school cycling team. These funds will help supply equipment and travel expenses as the team takes part in the NICA league this fall.

The party is BYOB, but Isley Brewing Company is literally right next door to the party. Kind of works out perfectly, no? So bring a picnic or ride your bike over and make it a ride-in movie. Good times. Good cause.

Click here for more info and to register.

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National bike month continues through May, but that doesn’t mean June deserves no bike love. Luckily the Sports Backers have June’s back.

Bike Walk RVA and members of the Richmond bicycling community are thrilled to present Dinner & Bikes, an evening with Elly Blue (author of Bikenomics) and her team of filmmakers and chefs on Monday, June 16, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Robinson Theater in Church Hill.

“We are very excited that Elly will be coming to Richmond for the first time this June,” said Max Hepp-Buchanan, Director of Bike Walk RVA for the Sports Backers. “Her book, Bikenomics, is a very insightful and well-researched look at the real transportation costs of families and individuals, and how investing in bicycling can help people, businesses, organizations, and cities thrive economically. We are looking at significant dollars in the City’s 2014-2015 budget to start building family-friendly bike infrastructure, and Elly knows better than almost anyone what a difference this can make.”

City Council and the Mayor’s office have introduced amendments to the City’s budget that include $4.5 million to build new bike lanes on Richmond’s streets and bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure along the riverfront, pending approval next week by City Council. The City is also finalizing its first Bicycle Master Plan, which plots out a full network of lanes and paved trails to be built in the coming years.

“Momentum is building in Richmond,” Hepp-Buchanan said. “Building bike infrastructure is one clear way cities are making progress on issues of economic opportunity, competitiveness, and neighborhood revitalization. Elly’s research in Bikenomics showcases how this can work for Richmond.”

The annual Dinner and Bikes Tour, a multimedia roadshow of food and bicycle enthusiasm, will be putting on events in 28 cities in twelve states from Portland to Miami. June 16 will be the first time the Dinner & Bikes tour has come to Richmond.

This event will come on the heels of the Better Block project in Church Hill North the weekend before (June 13-14), which will temporarily transform a two-block stretch of N. 25^th Street into a walkable, bikeable, and economically healthy place to live, work, and play for the weekend. The Dinner & Bikes event just a couple of days later will tie in those themes and explore how other cities have made the temporary improvements of the Better Block permanent.

For just $10, attendees of Dinner & Bikes will enjoy a gourmet healthy buffet while participating in an interactive presentation about how to effectively make a compelling case for bicycling, equity, and transportation activism. The tour is traveling with a food- and bicycle-themed pop-up bookstore. Authors will be available to chat and sign books after the event.

Tickets can be purchased in advance by clicking here: http://bit.ly/dinnerandbikesRVA. The $10 entry fee includes dinner, and seating is limited to the first 75 people who purchase tickets. The event is expected to sell out, so people are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.

Starting tomorrow The Frontier Project, in conjunction with Bike Walk RVA and the Sports Backers are rolling out a brand new contest called “Business for Biking.”

The idea behind Business for Biking, a friendly contest among Richmond-area businesses, is to promote active transportation habits and work environments. Tomorrow, May 16, is National Bike to Work Day, and the Frontier Project is asking for RVA companies to participate by signing up their business and as many employees as they can encourage to join and pledge to donate a decided upon amount, at the discretion of each company, to Bike Walk RVA.

The way it works is relatively simple: Employees log their round-trip commutes by bike into a system The Frontier Project provides each company each week through the end of June. Each commute equals a dollar figure donated to Bike Walk RVA on behalf of the company.

And as with any contest worth its salt, there will be prizes for the winners. Giant Bicycles will be awarding one men’s and one women’s bicycle to the leading bike commuters at the end of June, and for the business that has the highest percentage of employees biking to work, the Sports Backers will award a new bike rack. Couple those with a special blend of Blanchard’s Coffee and free professional development workshops from the Frontier Project, and you’ve got a real competition on your hands.