Giant Group Announces 15th Annual Ride Like King, A Celebration Of Cycling And The Power Of Bicycles

Riders around the world are invited to join Giant Group, Zwift and World Bicycle Relief May 19-21 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 15^th year, this celebration of Giant Group founder King Liu’s belief in the power of bicycles will take place May 19-21.

Ride Like King brings together people from all around the world to participate in virtual group rides online 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 uses bikes to help mobilize people in low-income regions. Riders can participate in various ways including virtual rides on Zwift and outdoor rides that can be organized and tracked through World Bicycle Relief’s fundraising hub.

To honor Giant Group celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year, a new “500 for 500” challenge is being introduced. Giant Group will donate one bike for every 500km ridden by participants on Zwift virtual rides and outdoor rides that get logged through World Bicycle Relief’s “Ride Like King 15” campaign hub. The goal is to accumulate enough kilometers to donate up to 500 bikes, which will surpass last year’s total of 300.

“Ride Like King started as an internal celebration within the Giant Group family, and it’s been amazing to watch it grow into a worldwide event,” said Giant Group Chief Branding Officer Phoebe Liu. “This year we are excited to introduce the new 500 for 500 challenge to echo back to Giant Group celebrating its 50^th anniversary. The last two years were affected by COVID-19, but this year we are encouraging more riders to join the cause—not only through virtual rides but also with outdoor rides in their communities to help us hit our goal of donating 500 bikes.”

World Bicycle Relief

Since 2005, World Bicycle Relief has delivered over 720,000 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 Ride Like King 15 (https://www.powerofbicycles.org/fundraisers/RLK15) campaign hub 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 count from May 19-21 toward the 500 for 500 challenge and make donations as well.

“We couldn’t be more grateful for our longtime partnership with Giant Group and their commitment to World Bicycle Relief’s mission. The 500-bike goal, in honor of their 50th anniversary, truly shows the values that drives Giant Group and their steadfast belief in the power of bicycles. We are humbled by their support through this global event,” said Adrienne Karecki, World Bicycle Relief’s Global Executive Director of Development and Communications.

Zwift Rides

This year there are 12 Zwift virtual ride events with an open and women’s-only option for each event. The May 19-21 schedule includes four rides per day including one daily gravel ride.

The Zwift rides will be supported by Giant, Liv and CADEX pro riders from affiliated teams including Team Jayco AlUla, Liv Racing TeqFind, the Giant Factory Off-Road Team and Liv Racing Collective. Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, both Ironman World Champions, will also lead rides, along with Giant Group ambassadors including Tim Searle, Rahsaan Bahati and Shequaya Baileyof The Black Foxes.

All participants will be assigned RLK15 kits during their rides and will be able to unlock those kits upon completion of a ride. Riders will be assigned Giant TCR Advanced SL Disc bikes for the open road rides or Liv Langma Advanced SL bikes for the women’s road rides. For the gravel rides, riders will be assigned the Giant Revolt Advanced Pro for open rides and Liv Devote Advanced Pro for women’s rides. Alternatively, three of the rides (one per day) will use WBR Buffalo Bicycles for both the open and women’s rides.

Participants will also earn a chance to win limited edition RLK15 jerseys, along with a card signed by King Liu, during each ride. Five jerseys will be given away during each of the 12 scheduled Zwift rides through a random drawing.

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 19-21, 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 KingIn 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 RLK15 event page at www.giant-bicycles.com/RLK15 or www.liv-cycling.com/RLK15

To register and find more information on World Bicycle Relief’s Ride Like King 15 campaign hub, go to https://www.powerofbicycles.org/fundraisers/RLK15 and select “Join Us” to create an account. From there, set the dates to start May 19, 0:01 and end May 21, 23:59. (If you don’t set dates, only rides between May 19-21 will count toward the 500 for 500 challenge). Once you see your account page, you can connect your Strava or FitBit account and add your distance goal. Rides can also be added manually using the My Fitness Activity drop-down.

For more details on all the Ride Like King events on Zwift, go to https://www.zwift.com/events/tag/rlk15

About Giant Group

Giant Group was established in 1972. With the Brand Purpose “Raise The Bar,” it is committed to advancing the entire cycling world and actively promoting a new cycling culture worldwide. Today Giant Group is the world's largest bicycle manufacturer and operates four major product brands: Giant, Liv, momentum and CADEX.

About World Bicycle Relief

Founded in 2005, World Bicycle Relief mobilizes people through The Power of Bicycles®. World Bicycle Relief accomplishes its mission by distributing specially designed, high-quality bicycles through philanthropic and social enterprise programs. These purpose-designed bicycles are built to withstand the challenging terrain and conditions in rural, developing areas.

Entrepreneurs use bicycles to increase productivity and profits. Students attend class more regularly and their academic performances improve. And health workers visit more patients in less time, providing better, more consistent care. World Bicycle Relief also promotes local economies and long-term sustainability by assembling bicycles locally and training field mechanics to service the bicycles.

To date, World Bicycle Relief has delivered more than 720,000 bicycles and trained more than 3,000 bicycle mechanics in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America. World Bicycle Relief is a registered nonprofit in the USA, Canada, U.K., Germany, Switzerland and Australia, and has assembly facilities in Colombia, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.