After talking to a few people who already developed a love of biking last summer, I decided I wanted to get a bike and see what all the fuss was about. For Christmas, my wife bought me a bike, and from what people tell me, a pretty darn good one. This is my first real bike before so I can't make comparisons, but that doesn't mean I'm grateful. Here are a few reasons why I love my bike.
ONE - Efficient Transportation
Everyone complains that the summer is too short, and I agree. I assume most people say that because they don't get enough time outdoors. So instead of driving to work, I've managed to figure out a way to ride to and from work on a daily basis. When people ask where I bike from, they are astonished that such a creature would ride a bike to work and immediately ask how far I ride. To be honest, it's only 5.5 miles and that is not far on a bike. Being a relatively healthy human being who started started biking for the first time this Summer, it takes me no more than 28 minutes, one-way. On average, the 25 minutes to bike to work is only adding about 10-15 minutes of travel time. That's a sweet deal.
TWO - Improved Health
I'm not going to lie. The first few weeks you're sore. Very sore. But to be fair, I'm using an entire system of muscles that I haven't used since I was 10. I'm just starting to get over the soreness now, but I've clearly seen some health benefits already. I have more energy throughout the day (even though I expend more), my average speed per trip is increasing, and when I finish I'm noticing that I'm not as winded. It's challenges you mentally going up hills and it's an adrenaline rush to go down them. I have no doubt my heart and lungs are cleaning themselves out since I stopped swimming and running competitively almost 8 years ago. And in a country where most people don't exercise, I'm getting a solid 1-hour dose of it.
THREE - Economic Benefits
Currently, I've rode 163 miles. Subtract the mileage from the fun trip I had with two friends a couple of weeks ago, and I'm at 155 necessary miles. What do I mean by necessary miles? That's the distance that I would have had to drive if I didn't have a bike. Here's some math: If' we're halfway through the summer, let's say I'll be around 300 miles. If you have a car that gets about 25 miles a gallon (average between city and highway) means I haven't used 12 gallons of gasoline. At $3.75/gallon (and ever rising), that's a total of $45. This may not seem impressive but also consider the following: I got to reduce my car insurance payments because of my decrease use of the car, which saves me about $80 over the course of the summer. I'm putting 155 less miles on my vehicle, which means I won't have to drop as much as I normally would into the four-wheeled machine. And the activity itself is keeping me in shape and out of the doctor's office (if I had health insurance). So what I'm trying to say is that if I keep riding my bike for necessary travel, it should pay for itself just in gasoline and car insurance savings in less than 6-7 years. Hard to argue with that.
FOUR - Spiritual Growth
Because I like making sure I have extra time when I bike or drive, I've been in the habit of getting up in the morning an hour earlier. But after realizing that it only tacks on an extra 10 minutes to my morning routine, I've been able to pray at work with all that extra downtime that I've accumulated. In fact, by the end of the Summer, I might be riding so fast that I'll be able to read and pray for a whole 30 minutes and do all of my teaching prep work before class starts at 8:30am.
FIVE - Sense of Accomplishment
When I get home, I can't help but feel some sense of accomplishment. Apart from developing a healthy tan, I can't help but feel some sense of accomplishment when I get home. I've completed a day's work (though I will always have lessons plans to write), I've spent some quiet time with God and knocked down 10-11 miles of good exercise. That leaves leaves the rest of the day, ripe for the adventures that lay before me. And hey, if I'm feeling ambitious enough, I can go out and ride more with friends for the sole purpose of fun.
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