The Advantages of Commuting to Work

Helen Lloyd    Helen Lloyd     commuting, cycling, Helen, Helen's Take On, outdoors

Living only six miles from work, I have swapped my car for the bike to get me to the office. It’s over a month now of cycle-commuting and the benefits are numerous. I can’t think of any bad points in fact.

With the cost of fuel ever-increasing, the financial benefits are one obvious advantage. Although with such a short journey, it’s a modest fuel saving, it would add up to an annual saving of over £500 and that doesn’t factor in the reduced cost of maintaining a bike. It is of course the environmentally friendly way to travel too.

Commuting to Work

Surprisingly it doesn’t take any longer to get from home to office when you take into account, when driving, the time it takes to find a parking space and walk from the car. Thankfully there are facilities so I can shower at work, as I wouldn’t particularly wish upon my colleagues a faint odour of my sweat permeating through the air-conditioned office!

There are then, of course, the health benefits of regular exercise. So if you’re looking to lose weight, the 45minutes a day of exercise it takes for the round-trip is a great help. And if you’re not, you can indulge in that chocolate bar without feeling guilty – that’s what I usually do! Either way, it keeps you fit.

Because I am now regularly cycling to work, I don’t need to spend my evenings exercising. No runs and no gym. And that, in my opinion, is the greatest reason of all. I hate the gym and now I have more time to plan the next big trip – biking the Great Divide.

My touring bike is all fixed now ready for the US tour, so I’ve been using this bike to commute. It has the racks on already, so I just stuff a pannier with a change of work clothes and my lunch and I’m off (shower kit stays at work).

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