Edmonton cyclists collectively rode 142,000 km last month in an effort to win community league challenge

Having biked 1,000 kilometres in June, Nolan Rettie speaks at a wrap party for the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues' second annual bike month challenge on July 4, 2025. (Darcy Seaton / CTV News Edmonton)

One man rode his bicycle some 1,000 kilometres around the city in June to win the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues’ second annual bike month challenge.

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“I do bike a lot – but not 1,000 kilometres a month,” Nolan Rettie, with the Yellowbird Community League, told CTV News Edmonton on Friday during a wrap party.

Normally, he counts about half of that mileage in a month, but he rode to all of the 60 scavenger hunt locations that were part of the June challenge.

“It was a good way to explore the city and find different locations,” Rettie said. “But it was also nice to win.”

According to the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL), the challenge began unofficially about nine years ago and has since expanded across the city, with 32 leagues participating in 2025.

Altogether, participants rode 142,000 kilometres in June. That’s roughly the equivalent distance of 1,800 loops on Anthony Henday Drive, 25 trips across Canada, or four times the Earth’s circumference.

In 2024, 31 leagues collectively rode nearly 148,000 kilometres.

The goal of the challenge is to promote active transportation and recreation, and also build community spirit.

EFCL spokesperson David Berry said the challenge proves the importance of bike infrastructure.

“We just see, when you build this stuff, people come out. When we started this nine years ago, cyclists were a slightly rarer sight but if you go anywhere around here where there’s plenty of wonderful bike infrastructure, you will see them packed with people.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brent Pushkarenko