Biking tips

Contents 1 Biking tips 2 Benefits of riding a bicycle 2.1 Environment 2.2 Health 2.3 Efficiency 2.4 Cost 2.5 Speed 2.6 Fun 3 Bike resources

[edit] Biking tips

• Safe cycling tips
• Cycle maintenance tips
• Cycle security tips
• Buying a bike
• Put your bike in the boot of the car, not on the rack/back if you can
• Plan your cycle trip with Sustrans
• Organise a 'bike bus' to work, www.massbug.org.au
• Infant and Kids and Bicycling Tips from IBF
• Women and Girls on Bikes
• Bicycle Commuting Tips
• Bike to Work Bike to Work and Other Encouragement Programs
• Take part in a sponsored bike ride
• Mountain biking

[edit] Benefits of riding a bicycle

[edit] Environment

• Bicycles are the ultimate clean air, zero emissions vehicle. Bikes are practical, economical, low-maintenance, and non-polluting. They have no exhaust emissions, no evaporative emissions, no emissions from gasoline pumping or oil refining, and zero carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Bicycling also means less water pollution (many people don't realize that motor vehicles are a significant source of water pollution as well as air pollution). And, bikes are quiet, so they don't contribute to noise pollution.

[edit] Health

• The physical exercise gained from cycling is generally linked with increased health and wellbeing. According to the World Health Organisation, physical inactivity is second only to tobacco smoking as a health risk in developed countries, and this is associated with many tens of billions of dollars of healthcare costs [1] suggests that increasing physical activity is a public health 'best buy', and that cycling is a 'highly suitable activity' for this purpose.

• The charity Sustrans reports that investment in cycling provision can give a 20:1 return from health and other benefits [2]

• Driving a car burns up to 58 calories an hour. Cycling at a reasonable pace uses 400 per hour.

• There's also plenty of research which says that a bit of excercise every day is likely to improve your mental wellbeing. Driving generally makes people cross (as witnessed at most traffic lights in london!).

[edit] Efficiency

• In both biological and mechanical terms, the bicycle is extraordinarily efficient. In terms of the amount of energy a person must expend to travel a given distance, investigators have calculated it to be the most efficient self-powered means of transportation. (S.S. Wilson, Scientific American, March 1973).

• In terms of the ratio of cargo weight a bicycle can carry to total weight, it is also a most efficient means of cargo transportation.

• A human being travelling on a bicycle at low to medium speeds of around 10-15 mph (16-24 km/h), using only the energy required to walk, is the most energy-efficient means of transport generally available.

[edit] Cost

• Owning a car costs can cost around £3000 a year. Bikes tend to be much cheaper (especially when you factor in the fuel!)

• In the UK there's a tax break scheme (IR 176) that allows employees to buy a new bicycle tax free to use for commuting.

[edit] Speed

• Particularly when commuting, bicycles can be quicker than public transport and other forms of private transport.

• An average cyclist can travel at 12-15mph, twice the speed of a car in rush-hour London.

[edit] Fun

• Whether your hurtling down a mountain side, gently cruising along a picturesque country path or smuggly gliding by the rush hour traffic, cycling can be great fun. Check out the resources below for more information.

Also see: Benefits of Bicycling, 40+ Reasons for Cycling

[edit] Bike resources

• wikipedia.org -bicycle
• www.bicycles4fun.com
• velospace.org
• how to make your bike a perfect fit
• European Cyclists' Federation
• Plan your journey with Sustrans
• www.bikeforall.net
• Institute for transportation and development policy
• International Mountain Biking Association
• International Bicycle Fund
• Electric Bike Directory
• Pedal Power Directory