7 reasons why you should bike to work

I admit it: I've not been biking to work much these last few months. My team have been nomads since our office doubled in employees and there was nowhere for us to sit. There are literally people sitting in the halls. We're currently squatting in an unused corner of an obliging start-up. But it's nearly 20 miles away, and I'm not that hardcore with the bike commuting.

I started biking to work back when I was about a mile and a half from my job. It was short and the route was extremely bike friendly, with most of it on a bike path along a river. Then I bought a house five miles away. Longer, not as nice of a ride, but I still kept it up. It was about the same amount of time as driving, since the path was all along surface streets.

Then I switched jobs. I was now eight miles away. I transitioned from a casual bike commuter to a serious one. I upgraded to a road bike from my old heavy college commuter. I got a bike locker at work. I biked hard enough to work up a sweat and need a shower at the end. It was a good 2½ years. I switched over to my current job without missing a beat. Similar distance (seven miles) with some hills thrown in. Not a problem.

And then we got kicked out. I didn't realize how much I relied on the bike commuting for my physical and mental health until I lost it. It was how I was getting nearly all of my aerobic exercise. I biked to work on Friday and really noticed how out-of-shape I've become. And it got me thinking of all the ways in which bike commuting is good:

1. Aerobic exercise
2. Cheaper than driving
3. More environmental
4. Reduced travel stress
5. Fresh air and sunshine
   
6. Combines exercise with commute to save time
7. Get to know your local neighborhoods better (you'll want to stay off the busy roads. Believe me.)
   

Thankfully, we're moving to a bigger office at the end of July. It's biking distance and they have a shower, so all will be well again soon.