Save the Earth - and a few bucks - by biking to work

by Heather John, education & community outreach specialist, Nuclear Waste Program

Commuting to work by bicycle is one of my greatest joys. It gets my blood pumping in the morning and it lets me decompress on the ride home each evening. But there is more to biking than the health and social benefits.

In honor of Earth Month, let’s delve into some of the reasons a bike commute is a worthy investment.

Environmental Benefits

Riding a bicycle provides a way to ease the stress on our struggling environment. Biking reduces carbon emissions, raises air quality, and fights global warming and climate change.

Biking to work sustainability stats

• Riding your bike to work rather than driving can cut down on your household emissions by at least 6 percent annually.
• Cars produce about a pound of pollution per mile annually; bikes produce none. Bikes are also up to 50 percent faster than cars during rush hour.
• Bikes take far fewer natural resources to make than cars, the production of which generates 1.2 billion yards of pollution each year.
• Far less rubber is involved in making bikes and their tires, which helps prevent the clearing of forests for rubber plantations.
• Not only does riding a bike help combat noise pollution — which affects wild animals — but it also results in less road kill.
• Twenty bikes can fit in the space of one car, so if more people rode them, we wouldn’t need to clear as much land for parking lots.

Financial Benefits

Commuting by bike saves you money! Not only does biking reduce spending on fuel, repairs and parking, but it also increases your overall health level, so you can potentially save on doctor visits and medications.

Biking to work cost saving stats

• For overweight workers, being physically active one to two days a week lowered healthcare costs by $400 to $500 per year. (Physical activity was defined as at least 20 minutes of exercise that increases heart rate and breathing.)
• The average annual operating expense of a bicycle is just $308, versus more than $8,000 fora car.
• When you ride a bike, you’re more likely to keep your trips shorter while shopping closer to home, which is great for local businesses.

Commute Trip Reduction

I’m proud to work somewhere that values the benefits of alternative transportation. Washington State Department of Ecology proves this with their Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Program. Large businesses in counties with more than 150,000 people are required to have CTR programs, and almost all of Ecology’s offices offer this incentive.

Employees can earn up to $2 a day for qualifying trips, which include not only bicycling, but also public transit, carpooling and walking. This reduces the strain on traffic, so everybody wins! Check to see if your employer offers a similar incentive.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. (I thought of that while riding my bicycle.)” – Albert Einstein

“If constellations had been named in the 20^th century, I suppose we would see bicycles.” – Carl Sagan

Sources:
http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/big-city/187346/infographic-10-ways-riding-bike-can-save-world
http://visual.ly/benefits-commuting-bike-work
http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/
http://dgs.dc.gov/dgs-blog/19-bike-work-day-facts

Biking: It does a body good

by Heather John, education & community outreach specialist, Nuclear Waste Program

Learning to ride a bike is something you never forget. Each time you get back on your two-wheeled steed, it brings back all the memories of childhood freedom and childlike wonder.

There are many rational, practical reasons why I commute to work by bike — many of them relating to Earth Day goals — but ultimately, my secret reason is that it makes me feel young and carefree (and car-free!) again. Gliding along neighborhood streets, taking in all the sights and smells and sounds, feeling a connection to my community in a really tangible way while I get an excuse to stop worrying about to-do lists and scheduled meetings — that’s the real reason why bike riding is my transportation of choice.

That being said, it’s certainly worthwhile to look at the more qualitative benefits of biking to work.

 

Health benefits

Riding a bicycle definitely has some amazing health benefits. It provides the potential to exercise and de-stress, and offers a built in part of your day for quiet reflection (depending on your route and traffic, of course).

 

Biking to work health stats

1. People who bike to work have better blood pressure, insulin levels and triglyceride levels.
2. You can burn between 215 and 500 calories during a 30-minute bike ride.* (*Based on a 10 mph average commuter pace.)  The actual calories you burn while riding depend on your weight, fitness level, speed, number of hills, etc.
3. People who bike to work have more energy during the day and sleep better at night. And just three hours of biking per week can reduce your risk of heart disease by 50 percent.
4. Bike commuters report better health since ditching their cars. The average person loses 13 pounds in the first year of commuting by bike. Each additional hour spent in a car per day is associated with a 6 percent increase in the likelihood of obesity.
5. People who bike to work have higher levels of well-being, self-confidence and stress tolerance. They also report greater feelings of freedom, relaxation and excitement than car commuters.
6. Each year, 33,000 people die in car crashes but less than 700 are killed while riding a bike, making it a surprisingly much safer option than driving.

 

Meeting new friends and learning new skills

Riding a bike can also introduce you to a whole new world of friends and hobbies. Apart from just getting out there and appreciating nature, you will find plenty of opportunities to join local riding groups (or start one of your own!) and participate in Eco Challenges throughout the year. Your new best friend might be waiting for you just around the corner of your nearest bike shop. Groups like Washington Bikes are a great way to meet new friends and learn some riding and maintenance tips.

I have to hit the road now — the fresh air and chirping birds are calling me. But I’ll leave you with some famous quotes about cycling. Happy pedaling!

“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” –Ernest Hemingway

“The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine.” –John Howard

Sources:
http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/big-city/187346/infographic-10-ways-riding-bike-can-save-world
http://visual.ly/benefits-commuting-bike-work
http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/
http://dgs.dc.gov/dgs-blog/19-bike-work-day-factshttp://www.ecy.wa.gov/earthday