I get so caught up in my passion for bikes and cycling that sometimes I forget the simple facts, cycling is good for people, society, and the environment, no if, ands, or buts about it. I love bikes, and cycling. I always tell people that even if cycling were bad for me, I will still do it just as much, I love it that much. However, I know this is not the case for everyone. I am lucky enough that the thing that I love is not only good for me, but also good for society and the environment as a whole. I was genuinely reminded of this fact this morning as I was browsing Trek’s website to see what was new. It is refreshing to read such positive statistics about that of which we love so.
The following statistics are readily available on Trekbikes.com in the “You” section of the company info. The statistics provided on Trek’s website read like this:
Consider this:
If you bike 2 miles to work and back each day instead of driving, your 4-mile round trip will keep 51 pounds of carbon monoxide out of the air each year.
That same daily trip will burn 36,000 calories over the course of a year—the equivalent of over 10 lbs of fat. In fact, the average person loses 13lbs in the first year of commuting by bike.
Your daily 4-mile bike commute will save about 66 gallons of fuel per year. If just one person in a thousand were to follow your lead in biking 4 miles a day instead of driving, we’d save 429 million gallons of fuel each year.
Pretty compelling facts, especially for those considering changing their morning commute to a cycle. Moreover, Trek also provides statistics courtesy of the World match institute regarding how the United States compares to Germany and the Netherlands with regards to cycling. The statistics provided read as follows: accounted for by cycling Percent of adults who are obese
Bicycles per 1,000 people
- United States 385
- Germany 588
- Netherlands 1,000
Percent of urban travel
- United States 1
- Germany 12
- Netherlands 28
Percent of urban travel
- United States 30.6
- Germany 12.9
- Netherlands 10.0
Stats courtesy of World Watch Institute
These statistics speak for themselves. Of course, we must not over look the simply, blaring facts; cycling is good for you, fun, and makes you feel good in return. If everyone were to switch their daily commute, or at least a majority, to travel by bicycle, image the social, economical, and health benefits that could be realized. Imagine climate change being a faint memory in years to come, imagine diabetes and heart disease statistics dwindling, imagine a generally healthier and happier population. Some may say that these are over ambitious goals, but are they really. Imagine if all of us expressed the simple joy that cycling brings us to our friends and loved ones, how much this could spread. I think that we can all agree, that cycling in infectious and addicting. SO SPREAD IT!
Fulton Bikes 