Bike to Work LIfe

The Bike to Work Day 2014 event was a great success at MTO as we had 20 cyclists and 3 senior executives supporting the sustainable transportation initiative. We had the executive director of Smart Commute  in attendance, and even the signage on the 401 was marketing "leave your car at home and ride to work".

As I cycled through the hydro corridor between Yonge and Dufferin I could hear birds chirping and smell the fresh grass. The temperature early in the morning is refreshing and the sun is just the right strength. When you arrive at work, it is as if you had a jog and all your senses are awake. That trapped feeling of being in an office all day is not as claustrophobic, after having received all that vitamin D and oxygenated on the way to work. As I looked at the people in their expensive metal cages, stuck in traffic frustrated, I was free to fly by and pass them on my way to work and push on the pedals harder to get free.

Some health professionals believe in early morning meditation. Some believe in stretching.  I believe I can get my meditation on a bike as I feel like a 10 year old again, and enjoy the scenery as I ride to my desk job. However, I now realize that all the current health problems of modern society are based on our car oriented sedentary lifestyles. Sitting in vehicles, burning fossil fuel, with long commute to the suburbs or beyond, to large homesteads, leads to a inactive life, which causes diabetes, high blood pressure, stress and ultimately global warming. The cycle to work can cure all these ailments, and then you have more time at night to spend with kids as you don't have to go to the health club for a work out. You helped save the planet and your health at the same time.

However you want to swing it, cycling to work is good for the environment and its good for you. There are new directions in public policy to allow employers to pay employees to cycle to work. It is all changing as the world moves from agricultural industry to urban information economy. Check out the links below for some of the current trends in employer sponsored cycling initiatives. Time to rethink this initiative.

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/01/29/cycling_in_the_city_toronto_employers_peddle_incentives_to_bike_to_work.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/02/us-france-bicycles-idUSKBN0ED1O120140602

Cycle On,


The Adventure Guy