How Riding My Bike To Work Has Changed The Way That I work
One thing the climate crisis has brought back into focus is the pure magic of bicycles — invented more than 200 years ago, these marvel machines are gaining major street cred for their simple ability to cure so many societal ills, from transportation overload to hazardous air quality to the obesity epidemic. They are a seriously big-time carbon offset!
I’ve been commuting by bicycle for decades now. At a personal level, bicycles of all stripes — pedal powered, e-bikes, cargo bikes — are pretty rad vehicles. They can also radically change the way you work. Here’s how:
It frees your mind for creativity
Riding a bicycle is the closest touchstone to childhood I’ve found, and it’s amazing to have that youthful feeling, even if you’re 61 years old as I am. When I drink from this fountain of youth, I feel the breeze in my face and gain the same sense of freedom and the unlimited possibilities I had back in the day when Mom shoo’d me out of the house to go play outside and I could (and did) literally go ANYWHERE on my bicycle. That’s the way I arrive to work now, with a sense that I can, and will, go anywhere, fired up and creative as hell.
It’s therapeutic
My work commute is four miles each way which is about 40 minutes of daily exercise. For a guy who loves beer and pizza, incremental exercise is an integral add-on to my daily workouts at the YMCA. (I’d say it’s definitely worth a beer, anyway.) I’m healthier and more productive on the job, it sharpens my brain, and perhaps most important, riding a bicycle provides therapy for my brain, a Zen-like massage for the mind that can help detox even the most stress-filled of work days.
It transforms a humble worker (presto, changeo) — into a certified climate warrior
When you’re riding your bike to work, you’re not just talking about climate action — you’re doing something about it. I helm a Certified B Corporation that tries to minimize its environmental impact, so commuting by bicycle checks personal and professional boxes for me. Doesn’t require gasoline to go. No exhaust fumes, either. Less wear and tear on the roads. Precious little embodied carbon, too. Bikes get my MVP vote on the green platform — they help me change the world, one (bike wheel) revolution at a time.
It boosts your take-home pay
Looking for an easy way to give yourself a raise? Yup, just another superpower that bikes possess. Commuting by bicycle requires zero gasoline. Maintenance costs much less than that for a car, and if you own an automobile there’s less wear and tear on it because you aren’t driving it as much. Depending on your auto insurance, you might even get your premiums lowered. Bicycling to work also eliminates downtown parking expenses, which in a big city can easily save you in the neighborhood of $100+ each month. In fact, at our company, Oliver Russell, you actually get paid ride your bike to work (or use other forms of alternative transportation), so it’s a big net gain for our employees.
There are other benefits
Most days, commuting by bike provides a beautiful transition between home and work and home again, time to get your game face on and then take it off again. It can reduce travel time to nearby meetings during the day as well, primarily because you don’t have to wallow in traffic and then locate and pay for parking and, finally, walk to the meeting from the parking garage. And then repeat it all to get back to your office.
Sure, there can be downsides. Riding to a client meeting in July can leave you sweating so profusely you can’t stop. Not being able to listen to Morning Edition on NPR. Bracing yourself for a 20-degree F. ride in January. And perhaps the biggest of all: Cars — distracted driving, crazy driving. You have to pay attention, people — car drivers and most of all, you, the cyclist.
Even with those downsides, it’s well worth it.
Of course, if you don’t trust me, you might ask the pros: LeBron James has been known to ride his bike to work, and just last Sunday New Orleans Saints Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater rode his to an NFL playoff game. The Saints may have lost another heartbreaker, but at least Teddy got to transition from work to the offseason with a nice, therapeutic bike ride.
If you’re interested in pedaling to work, you can get some great tips about bicycle commuting from Bike to Work Day, the League of American Bicyclists, and of course your local bike shop. Ride on!
