So the other night I posted to Facebook, “During the summer, on the evenings I have physio, I’ve been going into my office a little later and then going straight from work to 7 pm physio. Tomorrow that ends and the academic year 830 am meetings begin. I’ll leave the house on my bike at 730 and return on my bike at 830. Wish me luck! Also the bike light charging station is all set up.”
As a result, I’ve had some questions about why I ride my bike to school and to physio. People get my recreational/fitness riding, but many non-cyclists puzzle about the everyday riding.
Here’s some of the reasons I’d rather ride my bike:
♥ I love the time between things.
♥ I enjoy the movement.
♥ Love the outdoor air.
♥ There’s a freedom that comes with having my bike. I can leave when I want and come home when I want. I’m not dependent on the plans of others. I think about it every time I’m waiting for a drive. I should have just ridden my bike!
♥ I don’t pay for parking on campus, and I like the frugality of riding to work. Not having a parking pass is a definite nudge towards biking. But of course, I could get a drive to work. I do that on some days. My mother and I share a car, and she’s happy to drive me to campus. That brings me to my next reason.
♥ More and more, I’ve been thinking about the environment. For short distances–and in Guelph they are all short distances, Guelph is a small town–we should all walk or ride bikes, if we can. I love that Strava now tells me, on rides I tag as commutes, how much carbon I saved by riding instead of driving. Here’s my ride home from physio the other night.
The carbon saved info is part of a recent update to Strava. On activities tagged as commutes, Strava will calculate the estimated carbon saved as compared to completing that trip in the average personal passenger vehicle, based on this 2021 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report.
Here’s more on reasons to ride:
Reasons to ride that don’t include weight loss
“On yer bike” for oh so many reasons, but weight loss isn’t one of them
And then there’s 33 Reasons to Start Commuting by Bike this Fall.
♥ And of course, there’s this reason, which is my favourite.
Yes! I am retired, so no longer have the daily commute ride – and talk about fun, my commute was over the Golden Gate Bridge for several years – and I really miss it. It was so much easier to train for a multi-day ride when, at least 3 or 4 days a week I was riding for a couple of just-to-get-there hours, and everything just felt good. I always liked thinking about the environment. Even when I was living in a different direction, I took the bike to public transit & lugged the bike onto the train & rode it from there to my office once the train got to the city. Now, I try to ride for groceries, and do a variety of fitness & fun rides each week. But it’s not the same. Lucky you!