There are many obvious physical health benefits of biking. While the physical health benefits are certainly noteworthy and abundant, it is important to recognize the fact that cycling has a lot of other social, mental, and even financial benefits! These other benefits of cycling are legitimate yet incredibly under-publicized. Whether you choose to cycle to get fit, for competitive purposes, or even for social reasons, riding a bicycle regularly is an excellent way to keep your mind and body happy. Let’s take a look at the other benefits of cycling.
Surprising Ways Cycling Can Benefit You:
- Save Money
Biking saves you money. In 2015, the average American household is forecast to spend USD 1,962 on gasoline and motor oil. Shockingly, that would be the lowest average fuel expenditure in the US since 2009! Add on vehicle maintenance, the occasional repair, insurance, and the skyrocketing cost of parking, and you have an average yearly cost of USD 9,000 USD just to own a standard sedan in America. Conversely, a brand new commuter bike retails at anywhere from USD250-USD1,500 USD depending on the brand, style, and components you’re after, with an average yearly maintenance cost of around USD50 USD. Unless you want to maintain your bike yourself, then it’s close to free!
- Save Time
Bikes are often faster than cars in urban areas, especially when city designers have set aside proper bike lanes. There’s nothing more satisfying as a bicycle commuter than breezing past a long line of gridlocked traffic.
- Boosts Productivity
Studies show that bicycle commuters are healthier, more productive, and require less time off at work. This is why most enlightened employers are eager to accommodate commuting cyclists.
- No Parking Space Required!
Parking lots have enormous environmental and financial impact, particularly in urbanized areas. The more bikes you can get on the road, the fewer parking spaces you need to build. In fact, the bike experts offer bike storage ideas that strike a balance between two things: Security and Practicality. They discuss the pros and cons between the best types of bike storage, whether it will be a floor rack, a vertical wall rack, a horizontal wall rack, a ceiling rack, or a free standing rack.
- Develop an Environmental Awareness
Bikes don’t have tailpipes belching poisonous fumes into the atmosphere. They also eliminate the oil, fuel and hydraulic fluids dropped by automobiles onto the road surface — which means less toxic runoff into local waterways.
- Brain Power
Biking to work makes you smarter. Research has proven that moderate, daily exercise can prevent cognitive decline, sharpen memory and learning, and improve overall brain performance. So even if biking to work does not turn you into a genius overnight, at the very least it will make you better at your job.
- Safety
The more cyclists there are on the roads, the safer they will be. A 2008 study from the University of New South Wales determined that biking safety is a virtuous cycle. As more people ride in a given city, the number of collisions between drivers and people riding bikes decreases in absolute terms in that city. And this is not simply because there are fewer cars. Driver behavior actually changes to include safer driving practices when the number of cyclists and pedestrians increases. Because the perception of the relative safety of cycling improves with a decrease in collisions, more people then begin riding bikes.
In summary, there are many benefits of riding a bicycle other than the obvious physical benefits. Take a look at the benefits above and make a healthier (and greener) choice by riding a bike!
