Cycling is one of the best all around activities to maintain a healthy lifestyle and a fuller pocketbook. Picking up road cycling as a habit could even save your life. Many of us are so busy that exercise seems to always take the back burner to work and family – but cycling can be added to your daily routine without sacrificing anything else.
We will look further into this later. Biking is a great way to commute to work and is the single most sustainable form or transportation next to walking! Let’s take a look at some of the many benefits of road cycling.
It makes financial sense
Do you ever have trouble making ends meet with your monthly budget? Picking up cycling can be a way to save money – and potentially a lot of it. Think about how many costs are associated with driving and owning a vehicle. The average American family spends upwards of 400 dollars a month just on gas.
Compound that with the costs of maintenance, registration and insurance and you have thousands of dollars per year spent on your vehicles. Replacing just one of those cars with a road bike could add thousands into your pocket book.
I’m not advocating getting rid your car entirely – although that could be an option – but start with something simple like commuting via bike to work. The amount you’ll save upfront and in wear and tear on you car will be significant. Biking also keeps more funds in your local economy rather than sending your money to overseas auto manufacturers and oil refineries.
Saving money and maybe your life!
Aside from saving you money – biking could save your life. Studies have shown that those who use bicycles on their daily commute to work are a whopping 40% less likely to die than their less active counterparts. This isn’t something to be taken lightly. Simply put, biking makes you healthier. Being healthy also means spending less on health care. Reports show that Portland, Oregon’s bicycle trails have saved the city over $115 million in health care costs alone. Want more? Cyclists report feeling less stress, more happiness, and generally enjoy life more than others.
Exercise for those in a time crunch
When time is an issue, and you never seem to have enough of it, exercise often is an afterthought. One of the beauties of cycling is that it provides bikers the ability to multitask. For example, biking gets you from point A to B and gets your heart pumping in the process. Biking to work, as mentioned earlier is an easy way to get exercise while not changing your daily schedule by more than a few minutes. Biking can even be faster than driving in some situations – especially with more and more cities becoming cycle-friendly.
Cycling and the environment
In addition to the many other benefits provided by cycling, bikes are also environmentally friendly. Taking one car off the road removes some remarkably high amounts of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. Cyclists, like runners, in general, have a much smaller ecological footprint than those who only drive.
Removing cars from the road also means less space devoted to desolate parking areas and less interference with animal habitats (cars and animals just do not get along).
Between the financial, health, and environmental benefits that cycles provide there are enough reasons to park one or two of your cars in the garage a little more often and get your road cycle out and enjoy a healthy commute to work.
While driving is no doubt fun for many, cycling down the road on a nice bike provides a certain freedom that is hard to match by any other form of transportation. Read reviews at RoadBikePros.com than find a local bike shop and go see just how fun owning a road cycle can be and then enjoy the benefits that you are sure to reap for years to come.