City cycling 2020: Sycor cycles for the climate!

July 23, 2020

Every kilometer counts and even more so if it would otherwise have been done by car. The Climate Alliance's city cycling campaign is about 21 days of climate-friendly cycling on everyday routes and collecting as many kilometers as possible as a team.

And so eleven Sycorians cycled from June 7 to 27, and they did it all. In total, they covered the outstanding distance of 3,763 kilometers. In the ranking of the Göttingen teams, they finished in 13th place out of 39.

Thanks to their commitment to the environment, the SycoRadlers were able to avoid emissions of 553.2 kg CO2. By the way, this corresponds to a saving of 391.35 €. In Göttingen, a total of 552 active cyclists covered a total of 141,070 km by bike. Thus 21.7 tons CO₂ were avoided (calculation based on 142 g CO₂ per person-km).

In addition to improving their carbon footprint, our colleagues also increased their fitness and gathered many beautiful impressions on their tours. We have collected some of them here.

"It gives me great pleasure to start the day with a little bike tour. Although my bike would need some repairs - the chain keeps jumping out and unfortunately only one of my three gears works...to my bad luck of course the most exhausting. But that doesn't stop me from doing something good for myself and something good for the environment at the same time."
Vincentina Dalies, Marketing Manager, Sycor
"This year I took part in city cycling for the first time, as I only discovered cycling for myself again a few years ago. It was fun and aroused my ambition when I was overtaken again. However, I have found it easier to ride my bike in the summer for the last few years, I used to ride my bike and train to work in the morning and cycle home from work. That goes great through the fields, but unfortunately it was not possible because of the home office time. That's why the rounds to get bread rolls were longer."
Bettina Hennecke, IT Operations Administrator - Technologie Services, Sycor
"First I thought, city cycling, why should I participate? I cycle anyway, and I'm not sure I'll be able to do so any more. I thought wrong. In addition to the usual routes, I quickly added a few more tours. For example a great 2-day tour to the Steinhuder Meer with my wife and also a longer distance to my relatives not by car but by bike. And so the city cycling time developed into an intensive cycling time, which was really nice -> new ways, more movement, less exhaust fumes, fun, a lot of nature and also the peer pressure of our Sycor team in a positive sense. Even though I still use my car or other means of transport, such as the train, my motto is to choose the bike as often as possible. And as a city dweller this works very well for the most part. Even if there is something to transport or it rains or snows. For almost everything there are solutions with the bicycle, even if it sometimes costs overcoming."
Rolf Gottschalk, Manager IT-Operations, Sycor
"Take the bike and do something good for yourself and the environment. This is exactly what has motivated me over the last few weeks and has ensured that I now cover many more distances by bicycle. Why not take the bike for training and arrive warmed up? My car stops as far as possible. After a nice bike ride I feel much more balanced and have avoided CO2 emissions."
Nele Mücke, Marketing Apprentice, Sycor
"Save CO2 and improve your own fitness at the same time: Cycling for the climate is a great action. I don't know how my colleagues are doing, but I'm a little encouraged to reach one of the top positions in the team ranking for city cycling. I leave the car at home, if it can be arranged in any way, and on the way back and forth to the sport or for small errands in the city I take a detour through the beautiful landscape. And because I'm so beautiful in the flow, it continues like this until the onset of winter."
Susanne Spellerberg, Marketing Manager Corporate Communications, Sycor
"Since March 2019 I have no more company car. Since then I have been doing tours up to 25 km by bike or on foot. For one thing, there is rarely a bus here and it is definitely healthier. So I cycle not only for the environment but also for my health. Since my bike is now 27 years old, I decided to buy a new bike after the city bike campaign - of course WITHOUT battery. And because SYCOR offers us a job bike, I can lease the bike with salary conversion to reduce taxes and social security contributions. The savings for my bike are 677,- Euro."
Gabriele Weidenhagen, Project Advisory , Sycor
"At 16 I never wanted to ride a bike again, at 40 I changed my mind completely. Now I like to ride my bike again, not only to get from one place to another or to do various errands, no, just because it's fun. Last year my wife and I rode our bikes from Hamburg to Cologne, it was the best experience we had. On this tour I remembered the quote from Ernest Hemingway again. Cycling is the best way to get to know a country, because you sweat up its hills and then rush down them again. And I must say, Hemingway was right."
Ole Weist, Senior Trainer, Sycor

Our authors have very different professions and come from different areas and locations of Sycor. All write from their personal point of view and from their personal experiences.

Nele Mücke

Marketing Apprentice