Benefits of bikes... Why should I cycle?
Because it is...Good for you...
- Regular cyclists enjoy a fitness level equal to that of a person ten years younger. (Source: National Forum for Coronary Heart Disease Foundation, Sharp)
- Cycling at least twenty miles a week reduces the risk of heart disease to less than half that for non-cyclists who take no other exercise (Source: British Heart Foundation, Morris)
- If one third of all short car journeys were made by bike, national heart disease rates would fall by between 5 and 10 percent (Bikes not Fumes, CTC, 1992). Info from BikeBiz, with thanks.
- During rush-hour, a bicycle is about twice as fast as a car - good if you hate traffic jams!
- Bicycles require no road tax, no MOT, no insurance, no licensing, no breakdown recovery services, and above all no fuel bills (unless you count confectionery bars!).
- A good bicycle needs at most about 50euro-worth of maintenance a year - less if you do a bit yourself. How much does your car need?
- A good bicycle will last for years, if not decades. How long did your previous car last?
- A bicycle can be parked just about anywhere, so no more expensive car park bills.
- Twenty bicycles can be parked in the same space taken up by one car.
- To make a bicycle requires only a fraction of the materials and energy needed to make a car.
- Bicycles produce absolutely no pollution - they are a lot quieter too. When was the last time you saw a rusting, burnt-out bicycle?
- Cars kill and maim thousands of people every year - bicycles don't.