Biketober is back, celebrating all things pedal-powered with workshops, races, family events, film nights and more taking place in Wānaka and around the region next month.

Things kicked off early with a warm-up event - the Green Steam - which took place on Saturday (September 16). The official opening is at the end of September. 

Now in its second year, Biketober is designed to get people on their bikes more often and think about the way they travel. 

The event is organised by Wao Aotearoa and community support has ramped up this year, Wao programme manager Babu Blatt says.

“It’s awesome - the whole community is coming on board,” she said.

This means more partner events and activities as part of the Biketober programme.

The Biketober: Boots 2 Bikes - Festival launch on September 30 will feature everything from a bike market, live music, stands by local organisations and businesses and information sessions by local bike shops.

Other highlights include the Green Drinks: Wānaka Bike Capital of NZ? on October 11, exploring how Wānaka could become a cycling capital and October 14’s handy Bike Maintenance Sessions.

Babu is most looking forward to Chargeabout Tour De Fridge: “It combines bikes, community, quirkiness, music and food/drinks,” she said.

A survey completed by Wao in 2021 which looked into how locals get around found that the most common reason people choose to travel by car is the ease and comfort of a motor vehicle.

But it also found that the majority of locals have access to a bike, and most of their trips are short ones.

During Biketober, the Wao team is running another survey to see how habits have shifted.

Find the full Biketober lineup here and book early to secure your tickets.

PHOTO: Supplied