The ‘Bike and Hike Challenge’ starts on August 29

By Nicholas House
Navajo Times

Window rock

After three canceled events this month, Window Rock Wellness Center kicked off its first “Walk and Bike Challenge” today, August 29, at the summit of St. Michaels. The event began at 4:00 p.m.

The biking and hiking challenge is the newest group event that the wellness center will host on a weekly basis. Participants can do the bike trail, the hiking trail, or both in this challenge.

“We’ll be at seven thousand feet,” said Darwin Mitchell, recreation specialist for the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project. “So that (bike trail) will be six miles round trip. I think it will be about twelve miles. There will also be a hike. Hikers will go about three miles.”

The Window Rock Wellness Center will accommodate community members who do not own bicycles, if needed. The wellness center has 24 bicycles for large events, but will provide only five for the first event, in order to assess upcoming community attendees.

“We have helmets, gloves, pumps and tools for participants’ bikes for free,” Mitchell said. These incentives are sponsored by the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project.

The Window Rock Wellness Center planned the Bike and Hike Challenge for August 6, but there was a delay in approving the proposal. “We looked at a proposal in our office (Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project) and our proposal was not approved until just a couple of weeks ago. But this will be our first real event and it will continue for the next month again,” Mitchell explained.

Window Rock Wellness Center offers many other events and classes throughout the week: spinning, Zumba, yoga, step aerobics, HIIT (high intensity interval training), boot camps, and a walk and run series. Many classes are held from noon to 1 p.m. during the work week. However, the wellness center’s September schedule will be limited due to Labor Day weekend, the Navajo Nation Fair, and Window Rock Wellness Center staff meetings.

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