20 reasons to cycle to work

Bike Week is happening between 6 June – 12 June, with the goal of encouraging individuals to include biking into their on a regular basis lives. It’s aimed in the direction of everybody; whether or not you haven’t cycled in years, have by no means cycled in any respect, or often journey as a leisure exercise however wish to attempt cycle commuting. Bike Week is all about giving it a go.

Since 1923, hundreds of riders have celebrated on a regular basis biking and used Bike Week as a motive to take pleasure in an additional journey or attempt biking to work for the primary time. Should you’re a key employee, then this recommendation is extra essential than ever as biking is a good transport resolution than lets you keep away from public transport and get wholesome on the similar time. 

All you’ll want to give it a go is a motorcycle and the need to journey. We suggest you go solo or with one different individual not in the identical family, driving with no less than a two metre distance. No matter you do, nonetheless far your journey, have enjoyable. 

Listed here are 20 explanation why you will by no means look again.

1. Scale back danger of covid-19 contagion 

The present recommendation from the Division for Transport is to cycle or stroll when you’ll be able to. There’s a larger circulation of air and fewer danger you’ll come into contact with others while you cycle to work.  

2. It’s good for the financial system

Cyclists are higher for the native and nationwide financial system than motorists. Cyclists usually tend to cease and store, benefiting native retailers.

If cycle use will increase from 2% of all journeys (present ranges) to 10% by 2025 and 25% by 2050, the cumulative advantages can be price £248bn between now and 2050 for England – yielding annual advantages in 2050 price £42bn.

Biking UK’s briefing on the economic benefits of cycling has extra particulars.

3. Trim up and drop some weight

Biking to work will be a good way to drop some weight, whether or not you are simply beginning out or want to use your biking as a option to trim up and shift just a few kilos.

It’s a low affect, adaptable train that may burn energy at a price of 400-750 energy an hour, relying on the load of the rider, velocity and kind of biking you’re doing.

Should you want extra assist we’ve received 10 tips for cycling weight loss.

4. Scale back your carbon footprint

Contemplating the typical highway use of European automobile drivers, completely different gasoline varieties, common occupation, and including emissions from manufacturing, driving a automobile emits about 271g CO2 per passenger-kilometre.

Taking the bus will reduce your emissions by greater than half. However when you needed to scale back your emissions even additional, try a bicycle.

Bicycle manufacturing does have an effect, and whereas they aren’t gasoline powered, they’re meals powered and producing meals sadly creates CO2 emissions.

However the excellent news is that manufacturing of a bicycle units you again solely 5g per kilometre pushed. Whenever you add the CO2 emissions from the typical European eating regimen, which is round 16g per kilometre cycled, the overall CO2 emissions per kilometre of driving your bike is about 21g – greater than ten occasions lower than a automobile.

5. You’re going to get fitter

It needs to be no shock that biking will enhance your health. Should you don’t at the moment train usually, the enhancements shall be much more dramatic and the advantages larger, and biking is a good low-impact, low to reasonable depth option to get extra energetic.

6. Cleaner air and decreased air pollution

Getting out of the automobile and biking contributes to cleaner, more healthy air. At current, yearly within the UK, outside air pollution is linked to round 40,000 deaths. By biking, you might be serving to to scale back the dangerous and lethal emissions, successfully saving lives and making the world a more healthy place to dwell.

7. Discover round you

Should you take public transport you probably haven’t any alternative, when you drive it’s most likely ordinary, however likelihood is you’re taking the identical journey day after day. By biking to work you give your self the chance to take a special route, to discover round you.

You may discover a new magnificence spot, or maybe even a shortcut. Travelling by bike offers you way more alternative to cease and take pictures, flip and look again, and even disappear up an fascinating facet road.

Should you want a hand with discovering your approach, attempt our Journey Planner.

8. Psychological well being advantages

A Cycling UK survey of greater than 11,000 individuals discovered that 91% of contributors rated off-road biking as pretty or crucial for his or her psychological well being – robust proof that heading out on the bike is an effective option to de-stress and clear the thoughts.

Whether or not your path to work is on or off highway, it’s probably that can assist you clear your thoughts, enhance your psychological well-being and result in long run psychological well being advantages.

9. Decelerate and go searching

For most individuals, driving a motorcycle is more likely to be a slower and extra sedate option to journey. Embrace it, take the prospect to look about and soak up your surroundings.

Whether or not town streets or a countryside route, driving a motorcycle is a chance to see extra of what’s happening.

Benefit from the slower tempo, see extra of the world round you and respect your environment.  

 

Discover a quiet path to work

10. Save your self some cash

Whereas there could also be some bills concerned in biking to work, the price of sustaining a motorcycle is way decrease than the equal prices of operating a automobile. Swap to biking and also you’ll get monetary savings each time you commute.

Cyclescheme estimates a saving of around £3000 a 12 months when you cycle to work day by day.

11. It can save time

For some, biking can typically be a faster option to get round that travelling by automobile or public transport. In case your dwell and work in a metropolis, or journey in closely congested areas, you could discover biking to work saves you time.

12. A straightforward option to match train into your day

Some of the used causes for not exercising is an absence of time. Not with the ability to match exercise right into a day is tough for lots of us who’re busy with work, dwelling and social lives which can be more and more time-stretched.

A straightforward option to hold match and wholesome is to make use of energetic journey – a 15 minute cycle to work every approach would imply you meet the federal government beneficial pointers for train of 150 minutes every week with out having to lace up a pair of trainers or head to the gymnasium.

13. It’ll make you smarter

Only one bout of reasonable depth cardio train for as little as 30 minutes has been discovered to enhance some features of cognition, together with your reminiscence, reasoning and talent to plan – together with shortening the time it takes to finish duties. Seems like an excellent motive to cycle to work.  

14. You’ll dwell longer

A current research commuting discovered that those that cycle to work have an enormous 41% lower risk of dying from all causes.

In addition to all the opposite advantages of biking, you’ll make an enormous distinction to how lengthy you may be round – and we’re positive that’s an excellent factor.

15. No extra visitors jams – for you, or for everybody else

Fed up sitting in queues of visitors? It’s not good on your happiness ranges, and it’s definitely not good for the surroundings. Should you swap to commuting by bike, you’ll not have to sit down in visitors on congested streets and you’ll be serving to the planet too by lowering the variety of vehicles on the highway. Save time, enhance your temper, and profit others too.  

16. It’s actually good on your coronary heart and your well being

A research of 264,337 individuals discovered that biking to work is linked with a forty five% decrease danger of growing most cancers, and a 46% lower risk of cardiovascular disease in comparison with commuting by automobile or public transport.

As little as 20 miles every week on a motorcycle can scale back your danger of coronary coronary heart illness by half. If that sounds a great distance, contemplate it’s only a two-mile journey every approach (assuming you’re employed 5 days every week).

17. Enhance your immune system

On common, cycle commuting workers take one much less sick day per 12 months than non-cyclists and save the UK financial system virtually £83m.

In addition to being fitter, getting outdoors in your journey to work will improve your vitamin D ranges with advantages to your immune system, mind, bones and safety in opposition to quite a few illnesses and diseases.

18. It’ll make you higher at work

Should you’re fitter, more healthy and higher off – and biking will do all that – you then’ll carry out effectively at work. Analysis reveals that those that train usually outperform colleagues who don’t, which is nice for you and good on your boss. Should you suppose your employers can be drawn to a happier, more healthy and extra productive workers by enabling extra individuals to cycle to your office then they are going to be within the Cycle Friendly Employer accreditation.

19. Do away with your automobile and get monetary savings

This will likely sound drastic – however when you cycle to work you could now not want a automobile (or a second household automobile). In addition to now not shopping for petrol, you’ll save on tax, insurance coverage, parking charges and all the opposite bills saved while you don’t personal a automobile. To not point out that when you promote the automobile, there’s a money windfall you possibly can spend on new biking gear…

20. You’ll have higher high quality sleep

With modern-day stresses, excessive ranges of display screen time, disconnecting and falling asleep is a wrestle for many individuals.

A research of over 8000 individuals from the College of Georgia discovered a powerful correlation between cardio-respiratory health and sleep patterns: a decrease degree of health was linked to each an incapability to go to sleep and poor sleep high quality.

The reply may very well be biking – common reasonable cardiovascular train like biking boosts health and makes it simpler to fall and keep asleep.