The Hello Bar is a simple web toolbar that engages users and communicates a call to action.
By 6 Comments

Bike to Work Week — Save Money Edition

Bike and Bus
Creative Commons License 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!

Lance writes sto­ries from his heart, aim­ing to inspire and moti­vate, as you align more fully with YOUR true peak. When he’s not here, you can find him hang­ing out with his fam­ily, rid­ing a bike, or just gen­er­ally act­ing goofy.   Sign up for the Thoughts from the Tree­house newslet­ter and get addi­tional inspi­ra­tion in your email inbox!
Lance Ekum
View all posts by Lance Ekum
Filed Under: Health & Fitness

Comments

  1. jess downing says:
    May 12, 2008 at 3:59 pm

    Thanks for spread­ing the word on National Bike Week! Found it through Digg.

    Some friends and I started a bike week: ‘Bonedale Bike Week — Car­bon­dale with­out a “Car”

    This morn­ing we served cof­fee to about 20 bike com­muters. Tonight we have a bike main­te­nance clinic at the local shop. We’re round­ing the week out with a cruiser ride and ‘bike-in’ movie. Should be fun!

    Reply
  2. Lanceman says:
    May 12, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    Thanks for stop­ping by Jess!

    Bik­ing is great, I can’t help but spread the word.

    Have a great time at your events.

    Reply
  3. Mike King says:
    May 12, 2008 at 10:38 pm

    Thanks for mak­ing this a lit­tle more known. I will ride my bike all week, already did today to start it off on Monday.

    Reply
  4. Lanceman says:
    May 13, 2008 at 8:04 am

    Thanks Mike! Enjoy the rides this week. I rode in today, a great morn­ing here for biking!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 28 Unique Bits of Financial Brilliance | Marc and Angel Hack Life says:
    July 17, 2008 at 6:20 am

    […] Bike to work… or any­where for that mat­ter. – “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.” – via The Jun­gle of Life […]

    Reply
  2. 28 Unique Bits of Financial Brilliance | ? says:
    July 27, 2008 at 10:12 am

    […] Bike to work… or any­where for that mat­ter. – “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.” – via The Jun­gle of Life […]

    Reply

Speak Your Mind

*

CommentLuv badge

You will receive an email with any replies to your comment. Check this box only if you want to be notified of ALL follow-up comments. You can also subscribe without commenting.