photo credit: Thomas Hawk

“Every time I see an adult on a bicy­cle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race” — H.G. Wells

Today kicks off the start of National Bike to Work Week. What a great oppor­tu­nity to give bik­ing a try. Among it’s many benefits:

• Great exer­cise. Get some exer­cise, and get to work! A win-win sit­u­a­tion. You’ll start you’re day refreshed. And, after a lit­tle exer­cise, it’s hard to feel angry — not always the case after a stress­ful car ride in.
• Save money on gas. A great way to save some $$$ on gas.
• See some great sights. If you’re in the coun­try bik­ing, you’ll see nature and wildlife. Urban bik­ing is great for view­ing those things you cruise by in your car every day and don’t pay atten­tion to.
• Help the envi­ron­ment. Rid­ing a bike helps to lower the emis­sions we put into our atmos­phere, help­ing to pro­tect this world we live in.

It’s impor­tant to remem­ber, though, that you are smaller than the cars out on the road. Ride defen­sively, and keep an eye open for what lies ahead of you. Safety is impor­tant. Pro­tect your head — wear a helmet.

Today, I’d like to focus on the cost ben­e­fits of biking.

I bike some­where between one and three times a week to work. It’s a nine mile ride one way. Tak­ing in the cost of gas in our area (cur­rently $3.85/gallon), and wear and tear on the car, I esti­mate I save close to $4.50 each day that I ride my bike. And this does not take into account any resid­ual health ben­e­fits that will down the road in life make the cost of any poten­tial health care I might need lower due to being in bet­ter phys­i­cal con­di­tion. Cost sav­ings alone should make bik­ing at least a con­sid­er­a­tion for any­one who lives within a few mile of their work location.

So why not give it some thought? Or, maybe even try it once. Start small — bike to the local gro­cery store to pick up a few things (you can carry a back­pack for stor­age). Or check out a local bike path. You’d be sur­prised at how good it feels to get out there and move!

Tomor­row we’ll look at the “start up” costs to get out and do some bik­ing, and what kind of expenses you might have along the way.

Until then, happy biking!

I am a big fan of bik­ing — for many rea­sons. It’s good for your health, it’s good for the envi­ron­ment, you can save money on fuel, and it’s just a great way to see the coun­try­side! Now, even if you don’t have a bike, there’s still a way!

Lip­ton is giv­ing away a few bikes through blog­gers out in the blo­gos­phere. Here is one that is being given away at John Is Fit . The bike is a Lipton-branded Fuji Crosstown bike. See the link for more infor­ma­tion. It’s a great deal, and your chances of actu­ally win­ning the bike are really quite good. So, check it out, and then get out there and ride!