As you know, Vargas and Vargas Insurance will be raffling off a “Street Cruiser” bicycle from Ashmont Cycles very soon. We’ve already shared with you some bike safety tips in our blog “Gear Up for Bicycle Safety”. We will be talking about bicycle gear is a soon to be published blog. Bicycles provide major benefits. In this blog, we want to focus on the benefits you can gain by using your bicycle.
Cycling is Good for Your Health
The first benefit is probably the most obvious: getting in the habit of using your bicycle can be a great form of exercise. Routine bike rides can provide copious health benefits, such as:
- Increased metabolism
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Strengthened mental health
- Decreased stress levels
- Bolstered immune system
- Enhanced stamina
- Improved longevity
- Toned and defined muscles
And if these health benefits aren’t enough, consider the calories burned: in an hour of cycling, you will burn 300 calories on average. This means that if you get in the habit of taking a 30 minute bike ride every day, you can lose 11 pounds in a year!
Remember, though, that you should always consult with your doctor before you start an exercise regimen. It is more than likely that regular bicycle rides will provide a great benefit to your health, but you should always check with a licensed professional first.
Bicycles Benefit the Environment
If you are a regular on this blog, you may remember an article posted at the end of April titled “Are You Green Enough?” in which we explained many ways that you can help the environment. One of these was to use alternative transportation when travelling.
Riding a bicycle is an excellent example of alternative transportation. Forgoing the use of a car provides many environmental benefits, such as the fact that you don’t need to use gasoline or electricity. This means that biking reduces both air and water pollution. In fact, cycling creates no pollution at all!
Bicycles also reduce road wear – as you know, a bicycle weighs a lot less than a car, and therefore puts a lot less pressure on roads and sidewalks. This means that for every trip taken on a bike instead of in a car, taxpayers are paying less for road refurbishments.
In addition, you can fit over a dozen bicycles in the same space as a single car, thus helping with the current parking problem. Also, studies have shown that cycling can save you time in rush hour – instead of sitting in traffic, cruise by all those motorists on your bike!
Biking Increases Your Safety
There is one more huge benefit to jumping on your bike instead of into your car: you’ll be safer! One study from University College London states that young males age 17 to 20 who drove were at a five times greater risk than those who rode a bicycle.
If you cycle with the right protective gear, you can help yourself avoid potential injury. And while you can never fully protect yourself against the occasional cut or scrape, you will be at less of a risk for serious injury if you opt to use a bicycle instead of a motor vehicle.
If you need to take a longer trip and opt to use your car, remember to watch out for cyclists. These ten rules may help you to coexist and share the road with bikers.
Also, remember to stay tuned to the Vargas and Vargas Insurance Facebook page to learn more about our bike giveaway!
