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Cut Carbon Emissions While Getting Fit—Bike to Work
As you know from following our blog religiously (you do follow our blog, right?), we at Chelsea Green are bike people. Many of us choose to ride our bicycles to work, whether it be 3/4 of a mile or 12 miles through the hilly back roads of Vermont.
So we’re pleased as punch about this article on Grist today on how to start biking to work. It offers advice on everything from how to map your ride to calculating your gas and CO2 savings. They’ve even got a nice mention of one of our books, Biking to Work (part of the Chelsea Green Guides series).
From the article:
Ever glance enviously at the cyclists whizzing past while you’re stuck in traffic? Joining ‘em is easy — and it doesn’t have to involve full-body spandex. The health benefits of biking to work are plenty, from
helmet haira svelte physique to breathing fewer air pollutants than those stuck in cars. Regular bikers live longer and are less likely to get depressed than non-bikers, boasts the Chelsea Green Guide on biking to work. And with fuel prices showing no sign of coming down, you can save serious bling on gas — plus, there’s that teeny detail of cutting your carbon emissions.Employers are wising up to the perks of bike commuting, too, as two-wheeling workers are more productive and don’t need parking spaces. Google gave 2,000 bikes to employees in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa last spring, and the lucky folks at New Belgium Brewing Co. receive a bike after a year of service. In addition to bike storage and showers, Seattle’s Vulcan gives cyclists money for a cab if they leave after sunset — not too shabby!
So what’s not to love? Maybe the fear of getting doored, but don’t let that keep you off the streets. Biking is safer than you think — some claim it’s even safer than driving.
How do you avoid the perils of the open road and arrive at the office, soy latté intact? Here’s how to start.
Level One: The Baby Steps
Chart your course. If you can, get a bike map for your area so you can familiarize yourself with bike-friendly streets — a quick Google search turned up maps for all sorts of cities, from Seattle to Tucson. You can also check out sites like Map My Ride, which help you do just that, as well as viewing routes in your area that other bikers use. While you’re poking around, sign the petition asking Google Maps to add a “bike there” option to their public transportation and driving directions.
