The benefits of commuting to work by bike.
I have been commuting for a few years now, the round trip is about 38 miles. It was a tough ride to begin with and there are still days when I really don’t want to do it, but the benefits are amazing......
I could bang on about reducing my Carbon footprint and saving the world and keeping the Rain Forests green… but that is not why I do it … I do it because it saves money A LOT of money.
The cycle commute maths –
It costs me roughly £15 - £20 to commute to work and back every day – (fuel and running costs). My car commute takes 60 – 90 mins on the M62. For those of you not familiar with the Leeds stretch of the M62 (you London types) the M62 is without doubt the worst motorway in the UK. It is closed either fully or partially at least twice a week. This one strip of road goes from Manchester – Huddersfield – Bradford – to Leeds – the amount of traffic is unbelievable.
I can ride the 17 or so miles through the towns (not on the motorway) in 1hr and it costs nothing to do. So that’s what I do. Every day that I commute, I put £15 in an online bank account – the money I would have spent in the car – and suddenly had several thousand pounds of “free” money in the bank.
How to start commuting to work
I didn’t just throw myself into the commuting though … I would drive to work Monday morning with the bike in the boot and ride back, then I would ride back to the office the following day. I did the same again later in the week. By building slowly for a few months I built up some good core strength and picked a nice safe route home. As the months progressed I rode more and more and saw the bank account increase at a nice healthy rate. It’s amazing how much of an incentive it is to see all that money piling up.
Weight:
The shape change was pretty amazing as well … I lost pounds in weight really quickly .. then put it all back on, though as leg muscle not podge!
State of mind:
Fresh air, a tan (or rust), weight loss, a healthy body and lots of money … what a great feeling.
What did I do with all the money I saved?? I bought a spanking new Carbon Road Bike and a bike shed to put it in. All (in effect) free!
I have written some tips on how to get into commuting to work by bike, what to buy and where to buy it – coming up in the next day or so, so stay tuned.
