Take the Cycling Challenge
Pay it forward and ride your bike to provide a bike for a child experiencing disadvantage! Remember your first two-wheeler? Make the memory come alive for a child who would otherwise miss out and pass on your love of cycling to the next generation. Join Variety Bikes for Kids and do some k’s for kids today.
Why not spin or ride solo or with your mates across town or in a virtual month-long fitness challenge? Choose your distance, connect your fitness app and raise funds to provide a bike for a child who would otherwise miss out!
Let's Ride!
Did you know the average distance travelled to primary school is 4km per day? That's 20km per week and 80km per month active kids who own a bike travel to get to their place of education. This year we're challenging you to take the 80km challenge and ride 80km (or as much as you can) by 30 June! Choose your team and distance below!
Team Trainer
Casual rider? Set your challenge goal at 80km or less and hit the bike tracks!
Team Lycra
You're a regular rider - let's up the ante! Set your challenge at 480km and get pedalling!
Team Peloton
Can you challenge yourself to ride 800km or more before 30 June! The level of challenge is up to you!
Ambassador - Lee Turner
Known for his colourful cycling kit Lee "Hollywood" Turner brings joy and happiness to bike riding! Lee loves exploring Melbourne by bike and the comradery it brings. Lee is a well-known MC, commentator and Bicycle Network lead rider, most recently featuring on the cover of Bicycle Australia magazine.
"For kids a bike represents a sense of freedom & independence and every child no matter their circumstances or background deserves their chance of that. I want to see more kids on bikes enjoying the same freedoms and fun they brought and continue to bring me. A simple bike can mean so much for a child and I don't want any child missing out just because they are disadvantaged. The Variety Bikes for Kids program can be that difference to help a child in need so they are not left behind. Bikes are fun and bikes are social and why should any child miss out on that. I'm on board because I want every child to have that big smile I had when I jumped on my first bike".
Sign Up
Sign up for the Bikes for Kids Challenge as an individual or team. Set your target to raise funds for one bike or more!
Start your campaign
Set up your fundraising page and share it with your loved ones. Don't forget you can connect your fitness device to track k's for kids!
Get active
Choose your distance and get active with a cycling or spin challenge.Or start your own event with friends on Zwift!
Give a kid wheels
TIPS TO HELP YOUR FUNDRAISING
Get Started
People can be a bit shy about being the first to donate so making the first donation yourself is always a good idea. Others will be more likely to follow your lead, and they’ll see how much being a fundraiser for Variety Bikes for Kids means to you!
Spread the Word
Time to reach out to your friends, family, work mates and even your boss (many workplaces have matched giving programs, so it’s worth an ask if they can support you). Think broad - your social media fans and friends, and any groups you are involved in. You’d be surprised how many people would like to support your good work!
Keep Sharing
Using social media is a great way to let everyone know what you’re up to! Tagging those who have already donated is a great way to share your page even further, plus it shows that there are already people rallying behind your cause. And then repeat! Don’t be afraid of posting often on social media. #VarietyBikesforKids
Target and Incentives
Incentives are a great way to engage and encourage supporters to donate to hit certain targets. Be as creative as you want! E.g. for every $218 I raise for a bike for a child in need, I'll ride an extra 10km, when I reach $1000 I'll paint hearts on my helmet! The possibilities are limitless!
Get Personal
Add a photo to your online fundraising page and update your story as to why you've chosen to get involved with Variety Bikes for Kids. These two actions show your potential donors how serious you are about fundraising for Variety and why you want to make a difference to kids in need. Update along the way with videos, km travelled and fun facts. Fundraisers who tell their story raise up to 74% more than those who don’t!
Reminders
Life gets busy and social feeds fill up. Don't be afraid to ask again or reach out to anyone that may have missed you the first time around. More often than not, people have just forgotten, it's not that they don't want to support you, keep reminding them about the incredible impact they'll be making by helping out.
FAQ
When can I take the Variety Bikes for Kids Get Active Challenge?
Anytime before 30 June!
If you'd prefer to donate like previous years click the button below! Thank you so much.
How do I connect my fitness app?
Once you've signed on you'll receive a special profile page.
Your profile page includes your personal distance tally so you can track your distance towards your target. This is a great way to keep your friends updated on your workouts!
If you track your workouts with Fitbit, MapMyFitness or Strava your distances will automatically add to your tally.
Follow these steps to track your KMs automatically:
1. Download the Fitbit, Strava or MapMyFitness app and set up your account
2. Log in to your Variety Bikes for Kids account.
3. Under the heading ‘Connect your preferred Fitness app’, click your chosen app.
4. Follow the prompts to connect your account
5. When you next work out, select ‘start your workout’ in the app on your phone. Once you end your workout, save your workout and your distance will be published to the tally on your page the following day.
If you have synced your app already but it is not working, please log in and re-connect it.
When using Fitbit, you must ‘start’ an activity and save it. Your daily steps will not automatically add to your page. If you are having issues, try syncing through BOTH your Fitbit and the Fitbit app on your smartphone.
When using MapMyFitness, you must ‘start’ your workout, ‘stop’ your workout and then ‘SAVE’ your workout.
Your tally will be updated each day with the previous day’s distances.
Remember, you can manually add your kilometres to the tally in your My Fitness Activity tab of your profile after registering. This is a great option if you’re using a pedometer or a different method of tracking your distances.
Follow these steps to manually add your KMs:
1. Log in to your account and select ‘My Fitness Activity’
2. Under ‘Add activity’, enter the date and distance
3. The number of KMs will now appear on your fundraising page!
I've chosen a physical challenge - how many km's do I need to do?
How far you choose to challenge yourself is up to you.
Did you know the average travelled to primary school is 4km per day? That's 20km per week and 80km per month active kids who own a bike travel to get to their place of education. If you'd like to take the 80km challenge and ride or walk 80km by 30 June, we're behind you! But you can choose as many km's as you like.
As a beginner you may choose 40km, intermediate 80km and advanced 100km plus!
Can I take part in the challenge as a team with friends, family or workmates?
Challenging yourself with as a team is always extra fun! And working out together is an extra motivator. You can set up your challenge as a team and the km travelled by each member will all go towards your total team goal!
Where does my fundraising go?
Your hard work goes straight to purchasing quality bike packages, helmets and locks for kids who would otherwise miss out on the joy and physical, mental and emotional benefits of owning their own bike. AND this year we're also fundraising for adpative bikes for kids living with disability.
I need a few tips to help my fundraising
No problem at all, we're here to help!
We've created a quick tip guide and you can also visit our Take the Challenge page below for resources and more details on how you can get your fundraising on the road!
How do I share my page?
When you sign up you'll receive a unique link for your challenge page. We'll also send you an email with your link. Simply copy and paste and share with friends on email, SMS or social media. You can also use your page dashboard to share with your mates with pre-loaded text and imagery!
How much do I have to raise?
Every dollar counts towards providing a bike package for a child in need.
- $62 provides a helmet and lock to keep a child safe
- $218 provides a full bike package
We set targets for individual pages at $218 to aim for a bike package and $2180 for teams to aim for 10 bike packages - you can edit this anytime to increase your goal!
Want to chat?
We're here to answer any questions you have and help you with your kind gift, fundraising and to provide ideas and support to individual and corporate supporters. Please don't hesitate to reach out on (03) 8698 3900 or via email below.
