Top 5 Benefits of Riding a Bike Instead of Driving a Car

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Last Updated on March 3, 2021

There’s a good chance you want to make cycling part of your routine. However, it’s so hard leaving your car behind when you could reach your destination quickly.

The good news is, you are not alone. A lot of people have that dilemma on whether to cycle or drive. If you are in the same boat, today’s article will give you more reasons why you need to bike instead of driving a car. 

Who knows, maybe by reading a few benefits, you will get the motivation to ride a bike. Okay, let’s dive right in.

Contents

1) Improve your physical well-being

well being from cycling

It’s no secret that cycling improves your physical health and protects you from serious diseases such as heart attack, cancer, depression, diabetes, and other ailments.

This is the main selling point of using a bicycle over a car. A car allows you to reach your destination fast, but you will be in a stationary position. Riding a bike exercises the core muscles of your body, making you burn more calories.

According to WHO, people that live sedentary lifestyles have a high chance of getting cardiovascular diseases, obesity, colon cancer, and high blood pressure.

That said, riding a bike makes your body active and reduces the risk of getting sedentary diseases. If you are obese and looking to cut those stubborn pounds, start riding a bike.

2) Saves on fuel

According to Forbes, bike riders save up to $4.6 billion per year riding a bike instead of driving a car. Most bike riders spend $308 on bikes while car drivers spend $8,220 on their vehicle per year. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Besides gas, you will save on car insurance, parking fees, oil changes, and other expenses that come with keeping your car in tip-top shape. While you may argue that a bike has some maintenance, AAA states that the cost of maintaining a vehicle has increased by 2%. If you run the numbers, you will notice that you will be saving a lot when you ride a bike instead of owning a car.

4) Beat Traffic

cycling in traffic

If you live in a cosmopolitan town, you know that it's hard to beat traffic in the morning when driving a car. However, when you are riding a bike, it is easy to maneuver from the traffic and reach your destination early.

The most efficient way of reducing congestion on the road is using a bicycle for transport, mostly when you are covering short distances. Besides that, bikes cause less damage on the road compared to cars.

Since a bike's speed is different from a car, it makes sense to wake up early and start cycling. That way, you will reach your destination much faster. There's no way you will wake up at the same time with a car driver, especially if you want to be early at work.

5) Riding a Bike is Fun

Any cyclist connoisseur will tell you how riding a bike is fun. When cycling, you never worry about knocking on others or speeding. Research from Mind Health states that cycling makes your body release endorphins, the hormones that make one feel good and counter stress in the body.

While driving a car can make you happy, but you can't compare it to biking. One thing I know is, you can't be sad when riding a bike, but you can be sad driving a car. That's because when you ride a bike, you exercise your body and mind, which counter cortisol hormone. 

Riding a car keeps you in a stationary position, making your mind wander a lot, leading to stress and anxiety. Cyclists are happy people, and if you want to join the club, buy a bike and start riding.

6) Saves the Environment

car pollution

Do you know that cars are the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions? In other words, cars pollute the air when they release carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, and other gases.

One study from the UK states that air pollution causes more than 5,000 premature deaths each year. That means traffic pollution is more deadly than accidents.

However, bicycles don't emit any gas in the air because they depend on your manpower to move. Almost 70% of the journeys made by people in the US and UK are less than eight kilometers short distances that could be used by a bike instead of the car.

If you want to reduce the greenhouse effect on planet earth and save the environment, you can ride a bike instead of driving a car.

7) Cyclists make better partners.

You didn't expect it. Let me explain. According to most psychologists, partners who get bored about their current relationship cheat. Even though cheating is a habit, most people stay in the relationship unless they get stuck emotionally or experience a sexual vacuum.

Cycling releases happy hormones in our bloodstream, which makes most cyclists content in their life and relationship. Happiness is contagious.

When one partner feels satisfied and happy, chances are, the other partner will follow suit. Besides that, regular cycling boosts one libido, which means there won't be a need to search for an extra partner beyond your relationship.

Research from the American Urological Association states that there's a direct link between cycling and sexual health. Their research comes from 3000 cyclists who were surveyed. If you cycle a lot, your partner will join you soon, which creates bonding time for the couple.

8) You’re more engaged

Riding a bike is more engaging than riding a car. For instance, riding a bike while catching on social media news feeds is pretty hard. You will either have to stop your bike or continue riding. But that's not all. You'll also keep a note of your surroundings, which makes the ride unique every day.

If you are driving a car, it's quite hard to notice even the little things happening in your surroundings, making you get bored using the same route everyday. Since a bike keeps you engaged, you are less likely to cause an accident than a person driving a car.

Conclusion

Whether you have a car or not, cycling has more benefits compared to riding a bike. With the reasons we have given above, it makes sense for one to ride a bike. 

Besides keeping you in tip-top physical shape, riding a bike is more fun, especially when doing it with a group. 

Perhaps the ultimate question you need to ask yourself is, do you have the courage to leave your car behind and start cycling to work, school, or even shopping centers?

We know it's a hard decision, but a thousand leagues' journey begins with a single step. You don't have to go cold turkey. You can start riding a bike twice a week while you use a car the rest of the day.



Harold Whitford

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About the Author

My name is Harold Whitford, a husband, father, and avid cyclist with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from the University of Delaware. Having been in the industry for more than 15 years, I have a number of the road race and national time trial championships in my bag.

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