Commuting to the office? Opt for the benefits of cycling instead
Spring is in full bloom. Look at those trees! And the fresh mornings! You can almost breathe in … — the stale air on the commute. And whose idea was it to have the heat on in the middle of May? There’s a green way out of this colorful mishmash: cycling!
Bike month
Why not put on that very cool helmet that makes you look twelve again and bike to work like a good sport and support Bike Month? Yup, May is Bike Month and has been since 1956 to be pedantic. America goes absolutely crazy with biking in May, and there’s such a thing as a Europe-wide project called Bike2Work and if you decide to join in (and you should because it’s super cool), you need to register and they provide you with all the information required to win this thing. Each country has different campaigns set up; you can qualify alone or form teams with a couple of individuals.
Work-cycle: In May, that means cycling to work
So, team up with your coworkers and don’t forget to slap on a groovy name to go with your groovy office like the Cycos for example. Tell your friends and family and get them involved as well, then hop on and drive off into the sunrise.
Fresh air and exercise equal health
The benefits of swapping four wheels for two that are man-powered are obvious: exercise in general (especially outdoors) is good for you; you know, that PE thing you had scheduled at school that now life rarely allows, yup, that’s the one. And with the sedentary lifestyle we lead at work you definitely need to get that heart pounding with something other than stress.
Living the active life delivers more oxygen to cells, burns calories, lowers blood pressure, boosts energy, builds muscle, and more and more of the good stuff. It’s basically an espresso doppio for the mind and the body.
Exercise does wonders for the body and the mind by delivering more oxygen to cells, lowering blood pressure, preventing cognitive decline and aiding memory and learning.
Biking to work will make your happier; just imagine yourself breezing past people sitting in their cars, inching their way to the next intersection. Now, doesn’t that feel good? Usually, you’re the one in the slower-this-is-never-going-to-move-I-might-as-well-call-in-late lane; not today, my friend, not today.
Exercise will take away some of the stress, it’ll calm you down, alleviate depression and reduce anxiety. It improves sleep and helps with insomnia, plus it’s supposed to make you smarter. Don’t expect a Nobel Prize just yet, but exercise can prevent cognitive decline and improve overall brain performance, memory and learning. The positive effects of cycling are outstanding.
Take five, environment
Being kind to the environment isn’t only trendy right now but it’s absolutely, positively, supercalifragilistically necessary since global warming is a real thing. And if you want stats, by opting for the bike rather than motorized transport solely for the time period of the campaign you’ll be contributing to 8,870 tons of fuel saved and ~ 52,299 tons less CO2 for the environment to deal with and that’s extraordinary.
So, swap the the stuffy/stuffed commute sardine can for fresh morning air and the misty pastel hues of the sky. Biking to work also suits the more modern, agile way of working, where work doesn’t happen according to that traditional 9 to 5 schedule, but might happen in two or more stretches. It might even happen at different locations and hoping on your bicycle is much more convenient than relying on the ever changing bus and train schedules.
May is Bike Month and has been since 1956. So, bike to work for Bike Month.
You don’t even have to own a bike, since there are a number of bike share programs that cost pennies. Using the bicycle to go to work will actually help save you some money. No need to fill up the tank if you’re filling up your lungs with oxygen while breezing through the streets to the office. And the helmet? Very cool.
Header image: A. Domitrica
