Bike to Work Week is Coming

(Please see the post from 5/4/10 for Audax 200K details)

Bike to Work Week is next week, May 17 through May 21.  Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 21.

I’ve spent a lot of time, here and elsewhere speaking to the various benefits of “Utility Cycling.”  I use that phrase for a reason.  A lot of us get hung up with the idea that our bikes can only be used for one practical purpose.  That would be commuting.  The truth of the matter is that the bicycle can take the place of an automobile for just about any practical function.

If you are a regular subscriber to my Tuesday Tome weekly email newsletter, then you have seen my weekly Commuter Log.  I record the milage that I do on a bicycle, for strictly utility purposes, going shopping, running errands, and yes, going to work.  I also assign a monetary value to this travel.  In short, the use of the bicycle, in place of a car, saves a lot of money.

There are health benefits to the practice too.  Instead of just traveling in a car, I get to use necessary errand and commuting time to ride.  That’s free exercise, and it saves money.

At the same time, I get to have the positive “head space” of riding, instead of driving.  In fact, a lot of my utility riding is pretty therapeutic.

And I get to park in a prime spot, right at the door.

I urge each and everyone of you, please give it a try.   Ride to work at least one day next week.  Ride to the store, or some other errand, at least three times.  I’m pretty sure you will enjoy the process.  At the same time, you do good, for your wallet, your community, and your planet.