Riders around the world are invited to join Giant Group, Zwift and World Bicycle Relief May 17-19 to “Ride for a Better World”
Giant Group, parent company of the Giant, Liv, Momentum and CADEX brands, has again partnered with World Bicycle Relief and Zwift for its annual Ride Like King event. Now in its 16th year, this celebration of Giant Group founder King Liu’s belief in the power of bicycles will take place May 17-19, along with warm-up rides on Zwift starting May 13.
Ride Like King brings together people from all around the world to participate in virtual group rides as well as in-person rides within their communities. The three-day event features contests, product giveaways, and opportunities to get involved with advocacy through World Bicycle Relief, a global non-profit organization that usesmbikes to help mobilize people in rural regions. Riders can participate in virtual rides
on Zwift and outdoor rides that can be organized and tracked through World Bicycle Relief’s fundraising hub.
“Over the years, Ride Like King has grown from a small internal event within Giant Group to celebrate our passion for cycling to an annual global event with our partners WBR and Zwift,” said Giant Group Chief Branding and Marketing Officer Phoebe Liu. “We are excited to expand the event once again this year as we continue to promote the ways bikes can bring meaningful connections and change to communities around the world.”
Participants have a chance to be part of this change and help Giant Group donate one bike for every 500km ridden collectively—either on Zwift or on outdoor rides that can be logged through World Bicycle Relief’s RLK16 campaign hub. The goal is to accumulate 300,000 kilometers to donate up to 600 bikes, which will surpass last year’s total of 500.
World Bicycle Relief
Since 2005, World Bicycle Relief has delivered over 785,000 specially designed bicycles to communities in need. These bikes, called Buffalo Bicycles, are manufactured by Giant Group and assembled by local workers in the countries where World Bicycle Relief has programs. Each is purpose-built for heavy loads, long distances and rugged terrain. Buffalo Bicycles are simple to maintain and easy to
repair, ensuring years of reliable use in all types of conditions.
The RLK16 campaign hub (https://www.powerofbicycles.org/event/rlk16) gives everyone the opportunity to make an impact and be part of the effort to ride for a better world. It’s free for riders to register and connect to their Strava or FitBit accounts to have their rides from May 17-19 count toward this year’s effort to donate 600 bikes.
“Bicycles are more than a means of transportation; they're vehicles of change, unlocking potential in every community they reach,” said Dave Neiswander, CEO of World Bicycle Relief. “Through the Ride Like King event, we're channeling the collective energy of cyclists worldwide to extend our mission further. Join us as we pedal towards a future where bicycles improve access to education, healthcare, and
economic opportunity."
RLK16 Zwift Rides
This year participants have more opportunities than ever to join Zwift rides and be part of the movement. There will be 21 “celebration ride” main events from May 17-19, with rides scheduled every four hours. Each day will feature a different route.
There will also be a series of warm-up rides over four days leading into the main events. From May 13-16, there will be “ride to raise” rides every two hours with two different routes to choose from, and these rides will count toward the fundraising goal.
The Zwift rides will be supported by Giant, Liv and CADEX pro riders from affiliated road and mountain bike teams, along with triathlete and gravel pros. Global and local Giant and Liv ambassadors will also be involved, leading Zwift rides and organizing outdoor events in their communities.
All Zwift participants will be assigned RLK16 kits, and participants in the “celebration ride” main events will be able to unlock those kits upon completion of a ride. The main celebration rides will feature Giant TCR Advanced SL bikes for the open road rides and Liv Langma Advanced SL bikes for women’s rides, as well as WBR Buffalo Bicycles on the final day. Warm-up rides will add a gravel route option offering the
Giant Revolt Advanced Pro for open rides and Liv Devote Advanced Pro for women’s rides.
Beyond the bikes, CADEX 65 WheelSystems will be assigned for road rides, and CADEX AR35 WheelSystems for gravel rides.
Participants in Zwift rides will earn a chance to win limited edition RLK16 jerseys, along with a card signed by King Liu, during each of the main event rides. Three jerseys with cards will be given away through random drawings during each of the 21 main event rides on May 17-19.
More jerseys will also be awarded to participants of local outdoor Ride Like King events in their own communities. Employees, retailers and friends of Giant and Liv are encouraged to ride May 17-19, sharing stories and photos on social media channels. To be eligible for prizes, riders can simply post photos from their rides to Facebook or Instagram with the #RideLikeKing hashtag on those dates.
Why We Ride Like King
In 2007, at age 73, King Liu prepared for and completed a 15-day, 927km ride around Taiwan. That ride sparked a renewed interest in King’s own cycling lifestyle and the benefits that cycling can have on health and fitness. To celebrate that passion for cycling, members of the Giant Group started Ride Like King in 2009 as a small event within the company.
In the following years King dedicated himself to longer cycling tours as he traveled to countries near and far to inspire people and governments to consider the positive impacts that cycling can create. King retired from his position as chairman of Giant in 2016, but the event continues to grow each year.
How to Get Started
To learn more about this year’s Ride Like King events, go to the RLK16 event page at www.giant-bicycles.com/RLK16 or www.liv-cycling.com/RLK16
To register and find more information on World Bicycle Relief’s Ride Like King 16 campaign hub, go to https://www.powerofbicycles.org/event/rlk16 and select “Join
Us” to create an account. From there, set the dates to start May 17, 0:01 and end May 19, 23:59. (If you don’t set dates, only rides between May 17-19 will count
toward the 300,000km goal.) Once the account is set up, select “Dashboard” from the drop-down menu, go to My Fitness Activity, connect to Strava or Fitbit, and set personal distance goals. Rides can also be added manually using the My Fitness Activity from the drop-down. Participants can also use their account to fundraise for
WBR during RLK16.
For more details on all the Ride Like King events on Zwift, go to https://www.zwift.com/events/series/ride-like-king-16
