Winter Warrior Champion Tom Jages. Photo by Alex Grodkiewicz.
Link’s first winter season called on all of those brave enough to battle the cold weather to become the Winter Warrior Champion. Link launched the Winter Warrior Challenge on December 4, 2015 and recruited over 50 participants to take trips during the winter months. The competition ended on Friday, February 26, 2016.
On opening day, Tom Jagles started racking up trips at 5:00 AM and kept the pace up throughout the competition. The runner-up, James Muhammad, gave Tom a run for his money racking up 180 trips in a 24-Hour period, which is the most trips taken in a 24-Hour period by not only Link riders, but also by any B-Cycle (the bike sharing supplier for Link and other systems) rider. Things heated up on the final day with both riders racing the clock. But Tom’s early lead earned him the grand prize of a brand new cruiser bike donated by New Belgium Brewing Company and a new trophy designed by Links and Kinks to back his bragging rights. Tom finished with a total of 796 trips. The runner-up totaled 616 trips. All Warriors totaled 2,674 trips.
“The Winter Warrior contest was a fun way to keep in shape during the cold winter months. The competition was fierce at the end. I had a blast!” said Tom at last night’s award ceremony at Oregon Express. New Belgium Brewing Company and Bonbright Distributors were on hand with door prizes and swag to celebrate the Warriors.
Other participants walked away with the tiered prizes. The Second Street Market donated $50 in Market Bucks to the First Tier Prize, and UD Athletics donated four UD Men’s Basketball tickets for the 2016-2017 season to the Second Tier Prize. Third Tier Prize winner took home a free Link Annual Membership and Link swag. Link also offered mini challenges throughout the competition featuring local favorites: Ghostlight, The Neon, Confetti, and RiverScape MetroPark Ice Rink.
“We’ll definitely be bringing the competition back next year,” said Chris Buck, Business Development Manager for Link. “The program was a huge success. Watching the whole thing play out was very exciting, and we hope to inspire even more members to ride next winter.”
