It’s faster (and often seems easier) to get in the car, rather than on a bike, when you’re headed to work, school, the gym, the grocery store, or any of the other dozens of places you might go in a week. So why ride a bike? We all know it’s good for us, but here are eight new reasons to ride, from helping you get a date to charging your phone.
1. Get fit and stay healthy by simply getting from A-to-B: Bicycling.com estimates a 130-pound person biking at a moderate 12-14mph burns 236 calories in 30 minutes—a 180-pound person burns 327. Seems obvious, yet how many people do you know who drive to the gym to burn those same calories?
2. Women prefer men who bike: A 2009 UK study found that women prefer men who cycle as a hobby over golfers, football fans, and fisherman. Need we say more, gents?
3. Powerful legs in more ways than one: Bicycles now offer conveniences once reserved for only cars. One such example is the Atom, a bicycle generator and removable battery pack that we designed to harvest power from the bicycle for your USB rechargeable phones, lights, and electronics. (A shameless plug from us, the authors!)
4. I’ll bring the wine, you bring the cheese: The romantic (and wine lover) will appreciate the Canadian artists at Oopsmark who designed a simple way to tote around a bottle of wine on your two wheeled steed.
5. Safety has never been more audible (on a bicycle): Lights, reflective gear, and now bicycle horns to make you not only visible, but audible on the streets. Loud Bicycle Horn and Orp both turned to Kickstarter in 2012 to make bicycles heard.
6. Your cycle chic is here: The same UK study mentioned above found that women don’t like men in spandex. Fear not guys, Levis, Betabrand, and Osloh all carry hip men’s cycling jeans you don’t have to shave your legs to wear. For the ladies, upstart Iva Jean designs women’s stylish, functional bike clothes.
7. Celebrities do it (bike that is): McDreamy, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Zach Morris (yep) are all avid cyclists. Meanwhile, Beyonce, Jessica Alba, and Ellen Page all get around on two wheels.
8. It’s the new new: The American League of Bicyclists says commuter cycling increased in the U.S. by 47 percent from 2000-2011. Biking to work is the new black. Join up.
This post is part of the GOOD community’s 50 Building Blocks of Citizenship—weekly steps to being an active, engaged global citizen. This week: Try Biking to Work. Follow along and join the conversation at good.is/citizenship and on Twitter at #goodcitizen.
Original photo courtesy of Public Bikes.
