Transportation remains one of the largest sectors of emissions across Routt County and greater Colorado. Not only do the emissions contribute significantly to climate change but transportation pollutants can also have adverse impacts on human health, such as asthma, reduced lung capacity, and respiratory illness.

Every year, YVSC holds the CARbon-Free Challenge (formerly known as the Commuter Challenge) to encourage the use of alternative forms of transportation, like biking, walking, or even roller blading, in order to reduce emissions. Participants log their miles travelled using alternative forms of transportation as solo riders, families, or adult teams for the chance to win prizes provided by local businesses.

The weather is warming up, flowers are blooming, and we are all ready for long, summer days spent outside. That’s why we at YVSC are so excited to bring back a summer activity staple, the CARbon-Free Challenge, taking place from June 1-30.

As in years past, participants will log their miles for the chance to win awesome prizes from our local sponsors and have the ability to take part as a solo rider, family, or adult team. Participants can log miles for commuting, running errands going out, etc., all while using an alternative form of travel (e.g. walking, biking, longboarding, rollerblading, etc.).

How it works

Register for the Challenge and commit to using alternative transportation (walk, bike, longboard, etc.) at least once per week from June 1-30. If you are competing as a team, each team member needs to register.

Register in 1 of 3 categories:

Solo Participant

Family Team (doesn’t have to be the same family but must have at least 1 child and 1 adult on the team, up to 6 members)

Adult Team (teams can include up to 4 members, you may have many different teams from the same company or a group of like-minded friends)

Log your miles

Strava – Challenge participants can log their miles on Strava, a fitness tracker app that integrates social media and fitness into a fun platform for sharing routes and promoting friendly competition against others. For those interested in using Strava to record their miles, please create a Strava account and request to join the YVSC CARbon-Free Challenge Strava club. For any rides that you will be recording as a part of the challenge please use CARbon-Free Challenge in the title. For further clarification or questions, please email Kate Brocato at kate@yvsc.org.

Google Sheet – As in years past, we still have the Google Sheet for those who would prefer to track their miles that way. All instructions for use of the Google Sheet can be found on the first page.

Compete against other teams and participants to see who can log the most alternative transportation miles/trips for the chance to win awesome prizes.

Participants can expect weekly emails during the challenge with leaderboard updates and upcoming mini events/challenges. At the end of the challenge we will celebrate our winners with a great party and a chance to pick out your prizes!

If you have questions or would like to sponsor the Challenge, please contact kate@yvsc.org.

Ways to Earn Bonus Miles

• Drop off your compost –Take alternative transportation when you drop off your compost at a Cowgirl Compost or Twin Enviro compost drop-off location.
• Buy local food – Visit the Farmers Market or Community Agriculture Alliance and earn bonus miles when you buy local.
• Visit Yampa River Botanic Park – Take a trip over to the Botanic Park to get ideas on how your own garden can support pollinators and cut down on water usage.
• Get ready for costume week – Costume week will be during June 18-24, so get your costume ready! We will have a special prize for best costume.
• Kangaroo Prize – Earn up to 10 bonus miles for transporting children using alternative transportation. Bonus miles earned can’t exceed more than 10 miles for this category, but there will be a special prize whoever does so the highest number of times, so send a picture to Kate each time you do so!
• Attend a free class at Yoga Center of Steamboat – Our sponsor, Yoga Center of Steamboat, is offering a free class to every CARbon-Free Challenge participant. Just show your CARbon-Free Challenge registration email to your instructor.