‘Bike and Hike Challenge’ begins Aug. 29

By Nicholas House
Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK

After three canceled events this month, the Window Rock Wellness Center kicked off its first “Bike and Hike Challenge” today, Aug. 29, at the St. Michaels Summit. The event started at 4 p.m.

The Bike and Hike Challenge is the newest group event the wellness center will host weekly. Participants can do either the bike trail, hiking trail, or both at this challenge.

“It’s at seven thousand feet where we will be,” said Darwin Mitchell, the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project’s recreational specialist. “So, that one (the bike trail) will be six miles out and back. I’m thinking it will be about twelve miles. There’s also a hike, too. They’ll (hikers) go about three miles.”

The Window Rock Wellness Center will accommodate community members without a bike if needed. The wellness center has 24 bikes for large events, but it will provide only five for the first event to gauge upcoming community attendees.

“We do have free helmets, gloves, (air) pumps, and tools for their (participants) bikes,” 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 Aug. 6, but there was a delay in proposal approval. “We go through a proposal at our office (Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project) and our proposal didn’t get approved until just the last couple weeks ago. But this will be our first real event and continue into the next month again,” Mitchell explained.

The Window Rock Wellness Center offers many other events and classes during the week: spinning, Zumba, yoga, step aerobics, HIIT (high-intensity interval training), boot camps, and a walk/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 because of Labor Day weekend, the Navajo Nation Fair, and Window Rock Wellness Center staff meetings.