19/04/2007 by ctownley.

Hi reader,

I’m Chris. I work at buy-a-bike. I am studying Environmental Management at University. Heres my thoughts about using a cycle for commuting and for fun. My comments have a bias towards my interests WRT my studies and they also have a large element of common sense in them as well so you can appreciate my motives for encouraging others to use bikes as well as using them myself.

The monetary benefits are clear. For example I invested £750.00 in a hard tail in 2001. I used it for a 30 mile round commute, almost 5 days a week for two years before anything costly needed replacing on it. That is approximately 10,000miles excluding weekend jaunts (less than 8p per mile). Good bikes are the most reliable form of transport that you can use. I never wrapped it in cotton wool. It was cleaned and lubed regularly (once a week) and it needed nothing more than basic servicing and parts (2 sets of brake pads and one pair of tyres). Check out the accessories available for carrying luggage such as groceries, changes of clothes, uni files, work files…).

The non-monetary benefits are as follows:

1. Reduce your C02, N0x, S0x emissions compared to using a car, help lead a good example and cap C02 emissions, slow and stop our changing climate and the effects that it is yielding e.g:
1. Changes in the frequency and extremes of natural disasters,
2. Changes in seasonal patterns affecting e.g. farming yields/ food security/ predictability,
3. Extremes of temperatures for winter and summer that are causing rising sea levels due to melting glacier ice which causes saline underground water tables to rise and the devistation of parcels of low lying agricultural land used for crop growing or livestock grazing thus affecting food security,
2. Reduce the demand on petrol and diesel that is running out. Discovery of the (oil) peaked a long time ago, remaining reserves are proving very difficult to find, what is found is difficult to extract and of a poorer quality making it more difficult to process. All of this reflects in rising costs of utility bills (e.g. gas which is part of the same underground oil reservoirs). At the moment there is no alternative fuel available in the volumes that we use these commodities (petrol and diesel from oil), the costs are rising and will do so more and more quickly,
3. More people commuting using a bike means less motor vehicles on the road…How many times do you see or are part of the cars backed up in traffic with one person in? In a world of 9-5 working patterns it is bizarre to witness this. Less cars on the road means less traffic accidents and fewer emissions – This means fewer physical and mental ailments such as grazes, cuts, broken bones or worse and fewer problems related to the emissions (carbon particulates and nitrous oxides) that a lot of us are exposed to as part of our everyday lifestyles (problems which are not limited to but include respiratory, neurological (e.g. altziemers), kidney problems, muscle weakening and cancers),
4. Turn into work less frustrated (and often sooner) from not having sat in traffic cursing and raising your blood pressure and cycle there…chances are you will at times feel more mentally and physically prepared for your days work,
5. Enjoy the sense of freedom that comes from enjoying time with friends or being by yourself when hitting the trails or making hast on the road!

I encourage everyone to make use of ‘Cycle to work’ schemes that can be setup by all employers, large or small, private, public or voluntary. This way you can pay for a bike without vat and with monies from you salary before you pay tax or national insurance contributions. This means you can save upto 50% and pay over 24months making it a far better arrangement than any finance contracts. With a budget of up to £1000.00 You can purchase a very good, reliable and comfortable bike plus the accessories you will need to keep you as safe as possible in the event of a tumble, the bike secure when you need to leave it unattended and you as warm and dry as possible when the weather is poorer. (For more details go to http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/).

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03/04/2007 by martin.

Welcome on our Blog.

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