http://www.care2.com/greenliving/benefits-of-biking.html
Benefits of Biking
By the Care2 Staff.
Okay, we all know bikes are one of the few methods of getting there that doesn’t produce carbon dioxide emissions. But biking also offers far-reaching benefits to you.
Find out what biking can do for you and the planet:
Easy on the Earth
Rather than adding to the pollution problem, biking is a completely clean form of transportation. The only fuel it burns is your own calories!
Biking is also quiet, a huge plus for all of us suffering from the ill effects of noise pollution.
Fitness
Not only good for the atmosphere, biking is good for your derriere, and lots of other body-parts as well. Firming, toning, calorie-burning: Biking has it beat over driving any day of the week.
How many calories will you burn in a hour of moderate biking? Or 30 minutes? Find out with this handy biking calorie-calculator.
Boosting Your Mood
Even moderate exercise, like a leisurely bike ride, will boost levels of euphoria-producing hormones called endorphins. Translation: You can bike away your blues.
Enjoying the Scene
When we whiz past scenery in a car, we miss so much. The slower pace of biking enables ups to experience the beauty of locale. Avid bikers report the satisfaction of smelling newly mown grass, or flowering trees, or the fertile damp earth as one of the added bonuses of cycling.
Meeting Like-Minded Others
You can bet that fellow cyclers are probably health-and-environmentally-minded. Many bikers say that deep friendships often form among cycling enthusiasts because of their common ground.
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47 comments
add your comment »Biking is environmentally friendly in a number of other ways. I haven't heard anyone mention the water quality impacts of cars with all the pollutants coming out of the engine, brake pads, etc. Also, bikes don't have nearly the impact cars do in terms of pavement replacement. In other words, an asphalt or concrete bike path will far outlive it's vehicular counterparts with much less maintenance and reconstruction effort.
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Just reading about the old car pollution ... many cities (and towns) here in Germany now require cars to have a special disc saying they are environmentally friendly enough. No disc, no entry into the town or surrounding countryside. Many towns and cities also have good bike networks already set up - often a separate paved path near the road for bikes, skaters and pedestrians.
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PS. To avoid the pollution on the streets, I usually ride the side streets. It's much more relaxing too.
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Gila, that is especially true here in Michigan. There is no law to take polluting old cars off the road like in Canada. It stinks big time here! Sometimes you even see the pollution coming out. Yikes! I see your point. Maybe if we get together with a bike company and start a petition to green the cities with lovely bicycle paths like in my gorgeous hometown of Ottawa-Gatineau. They actually have a bicycle map that links all the cities together. It's fantastic! I miss it so much. Ottawa-Gatineau ROCKS!
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Elderly people in Japan bike and walk everywhere. If there's a will, there's a way.
Oh, Mike D., I used to have such bad knee problems that I needed a cane to walk for a year. What healed me is osteopath + acupuncture. Just thought you'd be interested in knowing that. Hope your knees can heal like mine did.
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on your bike or thoses feet was made for walking
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I live in rural Illinois, & one has to be pretty desperate, or some kind of nut to ride a bike here in the Winter. We have 3 other seasons where I find riding my 10 speed most enjoyable,though.
It is so refreshing & cooling to get out in 90+ degree weather in the heat of Summer & speed off through the countryside.... so much better than wasting energy sitting under an air conditioner...I can hardly wait for this Summer to begin! I am only 57, but I too, hope to be bike riding way into my 80's at least.
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I have a bad knee,so biking is not good for my knee,but it does have many benifits. Thank you for the posts
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Personally, I am not too keen on biking; I prefer walking.
But my aunts ride their bikes, almost every day, at age 81 and 76, respectively. (And they live in a bustling city, not in some village.)
Maybe that's why they look 20 years younger than their peers... ;)
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Did love to ride my bike , too old now , changed to a battery operated scooter and love it !!!
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