1. Timings
How long is your commute? For most people, the answer to this question changes every day — sometimes it’s 15 minutes and sometimes it’s two hours – on the same route!
Traffic, roadworks, diversions, dreaded ‘signal failures’, train delays and strikes can all affect the length of your journey.
But cycling is an easy way to bypass this and to introduce some consistency: this means you know when you need to leave for work (meaning you can get more precious sleep), and when to leave your office — without having to worry about missing the bus, the fast train, or rush hour!
2. Put wasted hours to work
Have you ever wished you could take some time off to dedicate to your fitness? Maybe taking a couple of weeks off to hit the gym every day and finally get in shape…
What about the three weeks every year you spend commuting? Instead of wasting time playing Candy Crush or checking endless work emails, treat this as your time to get fit!
You can burn around 210 calories on a single commute, build muscle and increase your cardiovascular fitness. And it’s something you can do every day: imagine how much better you’ll look and feel after even one month of commuting by bike.
3. Cost
One of cycling’s greatest mantras is:
“Driving runs on money and makes you fat: cycling runs on fat and saves you money.”
Cyclescheme estimates that you could save up to £3,000 a year if you drive to work, and £1,000 if you take public transport, if you switch to cycling.
So let’s flip that on its head — by choosing not cycle to work, you’re effectively spending £3,000 a year to not exercise by sitting in a car, or even worse: spending £1,000 for the ‘luxury’ of public transport!
4. Explore
It’s not easy to fall out of love with where you live, especially if you’re in a city. Constant trips back and forth from the office and late night Ubers can kill the romance pretty quickly. But cycling is the ultimate love potion: you get to see the roads first hand and have a real sense of the size of where you live and its geography.
And one of the best bits of cycling is cafes! The never-ending source of top quality coffee and cake… And because you’ve been cycling, you know you can indulge that little bit more.
5. Time to turn off
If you have a job, use Facebook, or are addicted to the news, you’ll almost certainly be on your smart phone . And if you commute by train or bus, then the chances are, you’ll spend all your time scrolling through timelines and reading tweets from people you’re really not interested in.
Surely, any respite from this is welcome? And where better than on your bike? Having a couple of hours a day where you can take a break from your phone and focus on a physical activity will do wonders for your concentration, and your mood. After all, there’s only so many photos of your friends on holiday you can consume before going mad this summer!
For more information about our services or to start your claim, call 0808 100 9995 and speak to one of our specialist solicitors. We’re here to help. You can email us or schedule a callback.
