Gini Deaton is our web designer and a frequent participant in our employee wellness programs. Thanks for telling your story, Gini!

BGI checks in the participants and installs the cycling computer on each bike at the beginning of the program.

Draper is sponsoring the “Get Back on Your Bike” program again for Draper employees and family members. Last year 80 people participated in the program. The participants biked over 11,300 miles! “Get Back on Your Bike”  is an employee fitness program created by Bicycle Garage Indy (http://bgindy.com/).

The goal is to clock a total of 150 miles over  six weeks. There are lots of incentives, including gift cards to BGI, a Bontrager Trip 1 Cycling Computer installed on your bike and the chance to win a drawing for a new bike by participating in trail rides and completing your mileage requirements. We have access to the bike wellness website, weekly email reminders and a program rewards card that can be redeemed for BGI gift cards. All the tools are there to make getting back on your bike, getting healthy, and having fun all part of the experience.

The Autumn Colors Team Contest is an optional friendly team competition where teams of 5 compete for the most miles during the program. This is my first year doing the program and my team “Just Spinning Our Wheels” is a contender. We have our work cut out for us because some of the bikers on the other teams are veterans. We will have fun trying though!

There are also group trail rides where participants can win more gift cards. Each trail ride is between 10 – 12 miles long and is on one of our area’s Cardinal Greenway Bike Trails. These rides are for participants of the program but family members are also welcome, so the events are a great way for families to have fun and get fit together.

I am really looking forward to participating this year. I decided to get back on my bike last year around the time the first program was offered but didn’t think that I could do the mileage since I hadn’t ridden a bike in over 20 years. I also had knee replacement surgery that year and was a little concerned that I wasn’t up to the task. My doctor said riding a bike was good for me so I started out slowly with a goal of being able to do a 5 mile ride by the end of the season. I did manage a 3 mile ride that year.

This year I am participating in the “Walk to Hawaii” walking program where the goal is to walk 50,000 steps a week for a year, with the chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii. (Did I mention that Draper finds just the right incentives to make us want to get fit?) I have walked 1 million steps so far this year! The walking has really helped my stamina and my leg and knee strength and I when I got back on my bike I found I could do that same 3 miles with ease and just completed my first 10 mile ride last weekend. It was not easy and I have a long way to go to complete the program, but this program is making it challenging and fun.

This year 46 are signed up and ready to ride, starting August 27th. As always Draper has found a way to help its employees get fit and have fun at the same time. So, get back on your bike and maybe we will see you on the trails!