CQUniversity's Rockhampton Campus cyclists have been recognised for their recent involvement in National Ride to Work Day (October 14).

The Rocky riders registered by the University's Healthy Communities initiative won the TravelSmart National Workplace Challenge for workplaces with more than 250 employees in the state of Queensland.

 
Dr Karena BurkeRockhampton Campus had the highest percentage of employees riding to work on the day, beating teams in the larger South-East Queensland centres.

"What a coup for Rocky, and what a way to put Healthy Communities and CQUniversity on the map," said Dr Karena Burke, who helped coordinate our involvement in Ride to Work Day.

"As a collective team, CQUniversity had 63 riders from Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Emerald, Gladstone - and our lone rider in Noosa - participate on the day; a mammoth effort for a small regional multi-site Uni!"

Healthy Communities hosted Ride to Work Day breakfasts in Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg and Emerald, and Dr Burke says she hopes to see the success of this year's event carry over to next year, "which hopefully will include a community focus and see even more people involved in the region".

Bike commuters all over the country celebrated National Ride to Work Day with community and workplace breakfasts. 

A total of 36,862 people registered for National Ride to Work Day, with 3710 workplaces taking part.  Registrations were up over 20% on last year, and over 115 community breakfasts were held all around the country.

The national physical activity guidelines for adults recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on 5 or more days to gain health benefits. Children's guidelines are 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every day!  The Physical Activity Capricorn Taskforce encourages people to choose active transport to assist in increasing their daily activity.

Dr Burke said recent (2006) statistics showed that fewer Rockhampton people used public transport (than the State average) and that more Rocky residents used a private vehicle. She said this could be explained by:

• the availability of affordable and effective public transport options
• the number of motor vehicles available within a household
• the travel distance to work, which for example, can allow people to walk or bicycle to their place of employment
• Lack of end-of-trip-facilities at workplace (such as showers and places to store your bike).