I learned to ride a bike when I was really young. Since we lived on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere and my mother rarely let me out of her sight, I basically only rode my bike around the yard as the child. I didn’t ride much as a teenager and I rode even less as an adult. In May I rediscovered my love of biking after my first ride around Cleveland on a borrowed bike. I immediately bought one of my own and haven’t looked back since. I can’t believe I wasted so much time not biking. Today is world car free day so I thought it’d be a perfect opportunity to share my top three reasons I love to bike and hopefully encourage at least a few folks to get back on the saddle.
My top three reasons I love to bike…
1 // It’s a new way to see your city. This is probably my favorite reason to ride a bike. I have seen so much more of Cleveland by getting on my bike and just setting off than I ever would have in a car. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been living in the same place your whole life, I guarantee if you start exploring it on your bike you’ll see things differently.
Something that I really enjoy about cycling is that I can basically stop where ever I want to soak up my surroundings or to shoot photos. In a car I have to worry about finding a parking spot (and dude, I hate parking!) On my bike I can just hop up on to the sidewalk and do whatever I please without worrying.
2 // It’s healthy. No, I’m not promoting it for weight loss because we all know that doesn’t happen when you’re biking to get pizza and ice cream all the time. Ahem. Biking makes you feel good. I am slowly but surely gaining muscle in my legs, and I can feel it in my stomach, back, and arms after a good ride. I feel strong when I ride. I am what’s powering my bike. I’m in control.
If I’m stressed, having a bad day, or just feeling plain lazy a bike ride will make me feel so much better. It seems counterproductive and it shouldn’t be the case at all but when I’m tired and I go on a bike ride I somehow end up feeling full of energy. It’s my absolute favorite stress-relief activity, even more than eating junk food, and that’s saying something!
3 // It’s fun! This is probably the first time in my life I have ever thought exercise was fun but it really, really is. Out of all the things I could have done for my birthday my first thought was “bike ride!” There are few times I can think of something more fun than biking.
Being on my bike is freeing. I suppose that sentence could also fit up there with my number two reason I love it since that is also a mental thing but feeling of freedom also fits into the “fun” category. I have never felt anything like the freedom I feel while zipping around on my bike.
More reasons to get on a bike…
+ Critical Mass. I don’t need to add anything else here except you have to participate in at least of these at some point. SO. MUCH. FUN.
+ What’s a traffic jam? Being able to beat traffic on your bike is absolutely one of the best feelings ever. As someone who is terrified, overwhelmed, and mystified by city traffic it blew my mind when I found how fun that traffic was on a bike. Game night traffic in Cleveland is my favorite to bike through.
+ Guaranteed front row parking, always. No need to waste time driving around looking for somewhere to park! You can always lock your bike up close to where ever you need to be.
+ You don’t have to purchase fuel (except aforementioned pizza!)
+ Fresh air always makes you feel better.
+ Biking gives you a sense of fellowship as well. Not every cyclist you meet will become your new best friend but it’s a similar thing to when people on motorcycles see each other. You’re immediately part of an awesome new club.
I know, I now seem like the cyclist version of a televangelist but I feel like so many adult forget how great biking is. You learn it when you’re young and then somewhere along the line you forget about it. I encourage you to take a ride around your neighborhood today. If you don’t own a bike, I’m sure someone you know will let you borrow theirs, and with the increased popularity of bike share programs you have no excuse to not give it a spin!
xoxo