June was a strong month for Allen County in the National Bike Challenge.

Our local challenge, hosted by Thrive Allen County, was the #2 local challenge in the entire nation for the month. We began the month as the #5 local challenge in the country, but have now moved into into 4th place for the entire challenge period, passing Backer County, Oregon, and nipping at the heels of Keweenaw County, Michigan.

Allen County now has 61 riders signed up, an increase of 22 in June. Together, we’ve ridden 11,743 miles, nearly 7,000 in the month of June alone.

Our individual communities are also doing quite well:

• Iola is the #79 city nationwide, and #5 in the state of Kansas. 47 Iola riders have logged 8163 miles so far. Iola is the #1 city in Kansas among communities with population 5000 to 49,999.
• Humboldt is the #110 city nationwide, and #6 in the state of Kansas. 11 Humboldt riders have logged 2949 miles so far. Humboldt is the #4 city in Kansas among communities with population 500 to 4,999.
• La Harpe is the #167 city nationwide, and #9 in the state of Kansas. 1 La Harpe rider has logged 551 miles so far.
• Moran is the #1140 city nationwide, and #40 in the state of Kansas. 2 Moran riders have logged 80 miles so far.

The city of Moran was a late addition to the National Bike Challenge, with two riders joining late in the month. We’re still searching for our first riders from Elsmore, Gas, Mildred, Petrolia, and Savonburg.

In June, the top 5 riders in Allen County were:

• Randy Rasa: 30 days, 1526 points
• Terry Broyles: 20 days, 1343 points
• Becky Stanley: 18 days, 1096 points
• Lori Stottlemire: 12 days, 890 points
• Elizabeth Cox: 23 days, 737 points

Our local challenge remains #1 in Kansas, surpassing local challenges in Topeka and Wichita (on a per-capita basis). Among Kansas counties, Allen County is #1 by a huge margin, with Stafford, Shawnee, Marion, and Barton counties trailing. In terms of number of riders, Allen County is #3 in the state (behind Sedgwick and Shawnee). In terms of number of miles ridden, Allen County is #4 in the state (behind Shawnee, Sedgwick and Johnson). By participation rate, Allen County is #1.

Among communities along the Prairie Spirit Trail, Iola is in first place, with Garnett and Ottawa far behind, and no other communities along the trail participating yet.

So, for everyone taking part, thank you for your dedication during June. Let’s keep it up! Keep on riding regularly, and keep on logging those miles.

And remember, if you have some miles that you’ve forgotten to log, it’s easy to go back and add them. Just log in to your account at NationalBikeChallenge.org, navigate to your personal profile page, scroll down to the calendar, click on the day(s) you need to change, and edit as needed.

For those who’ve not yet signed up for the National Bike Challenge, what are you waiting for? Come on and join in on the fun! Get started at NationalBikeChallenge.org. It’s free!