Burn calories, not gas: Ride a bike By David Suzuki
A U.K. man
recently built a bicycle entirely out of wood,
with no plastic or metal parts. Everything,
including the wheels, gears, and seat, are wood.
Inventor Michael Thompson, who made the "SplinterBike"
on a bet with a friend, says it can travel up to
50 kilometres an hour.
What's amazing is
that, almost 200 years after the first two-wheeler
was made, people are still able to come up with
innovative ideas for one of the simplest and most
practical and efficient transportation devices
ever invented. Even though I'm impressed by
Thompson's wooden bike, and by those with bamboo
or wood frames, I'll stick with my old metal-frame
bike. I'm just happy that cycling is becoming more
popular all the time, and that the city where I
live, Vancouver, is making life easier for
cyclists.
After all, riding a bike is good
for your health and the environment. As the
Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition points out in its
promotion of Bike to Work Week (May 30 - June 5 in
several Canadian cities), cycling to work is
enjoyable, helps you get and stay in shape, and
burns off stress. And when you consider gridlock
and traffic, it's often as fast as or faster than
driving. It's also way more efficient than car
travel. According to the WorldWatch
Institute, a bicycle needs 35 calories per
passenger mile, while a car uses
1,860.
Reducing your need to stop at the
gas pump is both good for the environment and for
your pocketbook, especially as gas prices continue
to rise. Private automobiles create about 12 per
cent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, and
road transportation in general creates as much as
one quarter. Riding a bike doesn't create any
emissions. And it's not just gas that costs money.
Buying, insuring, and maintaining a car, not to
mention paying for parking, costs thousands of
dollars a year.
Of course, cycling isn't
practical for everyone, and it's not always
possible to ride - although I've seen my share of
die-hard cyclists even on rare Vancouver snow
days. But with proper clothing and gear, many
people can ride for most of the year in urban
centres. And the money saved from not driving is
often enough to pay for public transit or taxis on
days when cycling isn't possible.
Our
cities will become more livable and our
environment cleaner when more people get out of
their cars and onto their bikes. But we still have
a long way to go in Canada. Only about one per
cent of trips are made by bike here (although Vancouver
is higher, at about four per cent), whereas in
many parts of Europe, the number is more than 30
per cent. In Amsterdam, 38 per cent of trips are
made by bike, thanks to pro-cycling policies
adopted since the 1970s.
Resistance to
change is inevitable, and in Vancouver we've seen
some backlash against the expanding network of
bike lanes. Many people still believe we should be
shelling out loads of money for pavement and
parking lots so that individual people can propel
themselves to work and shopping in a two-tonne
emissions-spewing machine. Others have complained
that, because the bike lanes were not immediately
crammed with cyclists, they're a waste of money
and get in the way of cars and business. But as
Amsterdam shows, investing in cycling and
pedestrian infrastructure eventually pays off in
many ways.
As more people take up cycling,
it also becomes safer. Although, those who worry
about the safety of cycling might be interested in
a British Medical Association study that found the
health risks of inactivity are 20 times greater
than the risks from cycling.
For employers,
the benefits of encouraging cycling are numerous.
A Dutch study found that people who cycle to work
take fewer sick days, and research has shown they
are generally happier and less stressed. Cyclists
can also avoid traffic jams and are not as likely
to be late for work. And bike lock-ups cost far
less than car-parking facilities.
Whether
your bike has a state-of-the-art bamboo frame or
is a clunky old off-roader, why not try riding it
to work, and not just during Bike to Work week?
You'll be happy you did.
Written with
contributions from David Suzuki Foundation
editorial and communications specialist Ian
Hanington
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