Cycling offers many personal and practical benefits.
It's good for your health
You may be interested to know that:
- The National Forum For Coronary Heart Disease found that regular cyclists enjoy a level of fitness equal to that of someone ten years younger.
- According to a British Medical Association report, cycling will improve your fitness, help you maintain a healthy weight, lower your risk of a heart attack and help to reduce stress.
- A British Heart Foundation study concluded that cycling at least 20 miles per week reduced the risk of heart disease to less than half that for non-cyclists who take no other exercise.
- As well as improving your health and wellbeing, cycling can be lots of fun, not to mention a cheaper, quicker and less stressful way of getting from A to B.
It's low on cost
Bicycles require no Vehicle Excise Duty, no MOT, no compulsory insurance, no breakdown recovery services and, above all, no fuel!
A good bicycle, if well maintained, will last for many years. All you'll need to pay for is annual servicing and the occasional repair.
It's great for the environment
Cycling is an environmentally friendly form of transport because it reduces pollution and congestion. For example, did you know that the average drive to school and back releases more than 800g of CO2 into the air – that’s enough to inflate over 60 balloons. Encouraging more people to cycle to work, school or for leisure instead of taking the car is key to improving local air quality and tackling congestion in York.
My Journey: Melanie
Melanie commutes by bike along the Selby to York off-road cycle route.