The Top Five Reasons to Bike to Work

This is Colorado Bike Month, next week is Bike Week and June 22 is Bike to Work Day, when thousands ditch their cars and two-wheel to work instead.

Excuses for not joining in are as common as potholes, but Bicycle Colorado has a comeback for all of them.

Here are the top five:

1. It’s too far, and I don’t have the time.

If you analyze your situation, you’ll find that pedaling is possible – even practical. By avoiding stop-and-go traffic, you can make excellent time. You might also consider driving partway to work, parking and biking the rest of the way. This saves money, gas and the environment. And while everyone else is idling in traffic, you’re spinning along, reducing your stress level.

2. I need to wear dress clothes at work.

Leave your suits at the office. Or bring nice clothes and lunches to the office on weekends so that during the week you can simply dress up once at work.

3. I don’t have a place to shower.

Consider a quick cleanup in the restroom instead. Or check out using the showers at a nearby health club. Sweat doesn’t equal smell. If you’re clean when you leave home and you’re wearing clean clothes, no one will know you biked to work. In fact, if you wear the right clothes and don’t have to climb steep hills on your commute, you may not sweat at all.

4. The weather is too rotten to ride my bike.

There’s no such thing as bad biking weather – only bad clothing. If you dress in layers and fabrics that block wind and repel rain and breathe, you’ll be fine.

5. There’s no place to park my bike at work.

There should be. If there isn’t, ask management why they’re not encouraging something as healthy and responsible as bicycling to work. Look for other areas in the building, such as a basement, a utility room, a closet or a garage. Or try an adjacent parking area where an attendant can watch your bike. Be sure to lock it up.

For more info, go to www.bicyclecolo.org.