What are the Benefits of Riding?

More Than Fifty Good Reasons For Cycling

1. Cycling increases mobility for those who don't have access to motor transport.
2. Cycling increases mobility for those who don't qualify to drive a car.
3. Cycling increases mobility for those who can't afford motor transport.
4. Cycling increases mobility for those who don't want to drive motor vehicles.
5. Cycling is the most efficient form of transportation ever invented.
6. You get exercise from cycling.
7. Save travel money by cycling.
8. Reduce stress.
9. Cycling is therapeutic for the mind & spirit.
10. Cycling is therapeutic for the body.
11. Your commute will be the best part of your day instead of the worst part of your day.
12. Cycling improves self-esteem.
13. Save on the membership to a health club, get your exercise cycling to work.
14. Cycling is low impact on the body.
15. Cycling is low impact on the environment.
16. Cycling in your neighborhood is a great way to meet your neighbors.
17. Camaraderie of cyclists makes it a great way to meet a nice stranger with a similar interest.
18. Cycling can ignore the traffic reports.
19. Feel the self-satisfaction of cycling past a traffic jam in the bike lane.
20. Predictable commute time.
21. Easier parking.
22. Cheaper parking.
23. Leaving your car at home provide a parking space for someone less fortunate.
24. If you are lazy, your bicycle provides door-to-door transport (you do not have to walk across a vast parking lot).
25. Reduce demand for parking lots.
26. Reduce energy consumption (see below).
27. Reduce air pollution -- cycling emit few gases.
28. Reduce water pollution -- Bikes don't drip brake fluid, anti-freeze, transmission fluid, etc.
29. Reduce noise pollution -- Even without a muffler bikes are quiet.
30. Reduces road wear -- Even if cyclist feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.
31. A four mile cycling trip keeps about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe.
32. Prevent and protest the sanctioned murder (homicide by motor-vehicle) of responsible citizens.
33. Bikes small profile reduce congestion.
34. Motor vehicle emissions cause more than half of the northwest's air pollution.
35. Reduce need to lay additional asphalt and concrete.
36. Easier to vary your route by cycling.
37. Cycling improves cardio-vascular health.
38. Better muscle tone, bone mass improvement, clearer skin.
39. Healthier people have lower health care expenses.
40. New cycling commuters can expect to lose 13 pounds their first year of bicycle commuting.
41. The exercise increase your productivity at work.
42. Increased bike uses generates bike facilities which increase property values.
43. Cycling gives you more fresh air than a sauna and you can still sweat and clean your pores.
44. Bicycle commuting is a license to dress weird and still feel smug.
45. Urban cycling keeps you humble.
46. Cycling is virtually life long activity.
47. Cycling can be enjoyed in a wide variety of topography.
48. Cycling can be enjoyed in a wide variety of climates.
49. Bicycles are a great means to see the world.
50. Cycling is cool.
51. Cycling is fun.

How efficient is Cycling?

Here is an explanation using eggs: A cyclist burns about 25 Calories per mile. One large egg supplies 80 Calories.

A cyclist can travel about three miles on the energy of one egg:


A person walking would require three eggs to go the same distance:


A loaded bus requires the equivalent of two dozen eggs for each person it carries three miles:


A train requires the equivalent of three dozen eggs for each person it carries three miles:


A car that gets 12.5 miles per gallon requires the equivalent of seven dozen eggs to carry one person three miles:

Even if you double the miles per gallon and double the occupancy a car will still use the equivalent of twenty-one eggs to make the trip -- more than twenty times a bicycle.