Published on Thursday, 9 October 2025 at 8:01:50 AM
On Wednesday 15 October, we're encouraging you to ride to work or school to take part in National Ride2Work Day. We’re making sure all community members across the Shire are up to date on the safest ways to get to your destination on wheels — including school for our young people!
Whether you’re heading to work, school, or anywhere in between, this is the perfect opportunity to get the bike or scooter out and squeeze in some daily exercise.
By participating in this initiative, you can also go in the draw to win two Shop Ashburton gift cards. All you have to do is snap a photo and submit your safe journey to our competition!
Prizes:
1st Place – $100 Shop Ashburton Gift Card
2nd Place – $50 Shop Ashburton Gift Card
How to Enter:
Click here to submit your entry. Entries close 4pm Wednesday, 15 October 2025. Winners announced shortly thereafter.
Here are some tips to help you ride safely to work or school this month:
🤚 Always come to a complete stop at road crossings
👀 Look left, right, and left again before crossing
🚶 Watch out for pedestrians when riding your bike or scooter — if there are lots of people around, dismount and walk until you’re in the clear
Check out more community information below on riding safely in your town.
Health Benefits of Exercise
We all know that exercise is good for the body and the brain, with major benefits for both our physical and mental health. This National Ride2Work Day, we’re encouraging our community to grab the bikes from the shed and pedal to work or to school on Wednesday, October 15!
Here are some health benefits of hopping on your bike:
- Cycling is a low-impact form of exercise the uses all of your major muscle groups – low pain, massive gain!
- Regular exercise can help reduce your risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and depression.
- Cycling to work or school contributes towards the 30 minutes of exercise recommended for a healthy lifestyle.
How to Dress Safely to Ride
One of the most important factors before riding to your destination is to ensure you have the right gear before commencing!
To help reduce the likelihood of injury to yourself and others, we encourage you to:
- Always wear a helmet.
- Make sure your helmet fits snugly, you aren’t wearing any other headgear (i.e. hats) underneath, and that it is buckled before you ride.
- Wear brightly coloured clothing so vehicles can clearly see you.
E-Scooter Safety
With e-scooters becoming a more popular mode of transport for adults and young people alike, National Ride2Work Day is the perfect opportunity to remind our community about responsible riding practices.
Did you know that:
- Only people aged 16 and over are legally allowed to use e-rideables
- You must wear a helmet when one an e-rideable
- The speed limit is 10km/h on all footpaths
- It is illegal to ride your scooter on any road if the speed limit is above 50km/h
- Only one person is allowed on an e-rideable at any time.
Help us keep our roads and footpaths safe and make sure that if you’re riding an e-scooter, you’re complying with the rules.
Keeping Pedestrians Safe While Sharing the Roads
Here in the Shire of Ashburton, we’re fortunate to have such a family-friendly and active community! This means that our footpaths are regularly used by pedestrians, so it’s important that if you’re getting around on scooters and bikes. There’s a few rules you should be aware of:
- Pedestrians have right of way on all footpaths, so keep left unless you’re safely overtaking.
- Slow down when rounding corners – you never know what (or who) is on the other side!
- Never leave your bike or scooter on footpaths or near entryways to buildings, as someone might trip. Always park your vehicles in designated bays.
Remember, you’re moving much quicker than walkers, so give those around you a wide birth as you navigate through town.
How Riding Benefits you and Your Community
Not only is riding great for your physical and mental health, it’s also an easy way to cut down on fuel and car maintenance costs — every little bit helps!
For local businesses, encouraging staff to ride to work can also boost productivity and wellbeing, with studies showing improvements in focus, mood, and overall fitness.
And by swapping even a short car trip for a ride, you’re helping to reduce emissions — every kilometre cycled saves around 240 grams of carbon from entering the atmosphere.
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