Promoting Healthy Lifestyles – National Bike Challenge
At RDG, we are more than just designers and we strive every day to provide opportunities for staff to adopt a series of lifestyles that allow them to achieve balance to their home, work and public lives. Lifestyles that maintain their value as good designers, commitment to sustainable decisions, living a healthy lifestyle, continuous learning, embracing new technology, and all the while having some fun! We reinforce healthy living by promoting healthy practices in the projects we design, in our office practices, and in our individual lifestyles. Health affects both our individual performance and our quality of life. When you feel better, your relationships, your work, and your life follow suit. In the words of Interior Designer Brian Kerl, “My bike commute brings me closer to the sights, sounds, smells and fabric of my community.”
RDG puts action to its mission of healthy lifestyles through participating in many events including the National Bike Challenge sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists and Love to Ride. Every year, this national challenge runs from May – September, encouraging people to cycle and raise funds to support their mission.
“Love to Ride has been successfully helping communities and companies get more people riding and riding more often for transportation. Our secret is a blend of behavior change methodology, self-perception theory, and peer-to-peer support that serves as the backbone to all that we do. From game design to communications, Love to Ride creates a virtuous circle that incentivizes avid cycling to encourage non-cyclist to ride.”
– Laura Cisneros, Love to Ride North America
Bicycling is also a way in which we can express our commitment to the health of our environment. “Transportation is one area where choices in our daily routine can have substantial societal benefits,” says Urban Planner Marty Shukert. “Taken to scale, using a mode of transportation that produces no greenhouse gas emissions, uses no fossil fuels, makes no noise, and promotes civil life saves thousands of tons of pollutants and serves our mission as designers of the environment.”
“In today’s busy world, finding ways to slow down and connect to our communities while also living an active lifestyle is a precious opportunity offered to those who pedal to work, errands, or just pleasure.”
– Amy Haase, RDG Principal & Urban Planner
In May, RDG ranked in the Top 5 nationally in the “Engineering and Manufacturing” business category of 50-199 staff. This year, 22 staff members participated making over 886 trips and cycled over 9,000 miles, with a carbon offset of 1,595 lbs. Reinforcing our healthy and sustainable lifestyles while enjoying our communities at a slower pace.
As the fall season begins, we look forward to continuing the cycling journey with over 16,000 organizations worldwide for Cycle September – The Global Business Challenge. “A healthy lifestyle has been a mindset within the culture of RDG for many years. We take that mindset out into the communities that honor us to plan, design and execute their visions. Creating the best possible outcomes for all that will be using these spaces now and for generations to come,” says Office Administrator Judi Brown.
Simply put, “Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride!” Tyler Jessen – AIA, NCARB
Click here to learn more about Love To Ride or for business benefits, visit https://business.lovetoride.net.
