It’s Bike to Work Month! Stash the car in the garage, leave the metro ticket on your dresser, and jump on your bike - every day this month!

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It’s Bike to Work Month! Stash the car in the garage, leave the metro ticket on your dresser, and jump on your bike – every day this month!

I encourage you to unite with thousands of other through the country by riding your bike to work this month. And I sincerely hope that, when the month is over, you will continue to keep bicycling to work.

Yes, it’s a tough choice. Your car is comfortable. Your car gets you to work faster. Your car protects you from wind and rain. But there are many reasons to get out of that car onto two wheels.

If you bike to work for just one month you can:

1) Burn 18,800 calories

2) Save .00 in gas money

3) Attain a C02 reduction of 384 pounds

4) Brag to your friends about points 1-3

But what if those things aren’t enough to get you out and about on the bike? I mean – they are great, noble ideas but not quite enough to push you over the edge? The real reason you should be get out there and bike to work is because:

Biking is more fun

Allow yourself to be a kid again. Allow yourself the pure unadulterated joy of flying free in the wind. Splash through puddles – how bad can the day be if you can splash in puddles on your way to and from work?

I know – you’ve got your list of excuses all ready to go. You can’t work in your biking clothes. You have no place to store your bike. And (my personal favorite): what will people say?

But really, all of that is just excuses. If you really make the decision to bike to work, you’ll find a way. Take a week’s worth of clothes and leave them in the office or stash what you need for the day in your pannier. Talk with the security guard about some old, rarely-used closet where you can stash the bike. It might take a bit of creativity, but it’ll work. If you make it work.

My challenge to you is to bike to work this month. Every. Single. Day.

Nancy Sathre-Vogel discovered the joys of bike touring nearly 30 years ago and has watched the changes in gear and equipment through the years. For help planning your own bicycle tour, check out her website, www.familyonbikes.org.

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