5 Proven Benefits of Cycling to Work

Choosing to cycle to work has a variety of benefits to the individual, the community, and the planet. If you choose to swap your car for a bicycle, you’re sure to see a positive impact, whether it’s in your wallet or on the scales.

If you’re not sure whether to ditch driving and join the cycling commuters, take a read through our benefits of cycling to work and you may feel yourself swayed towards saddling up for your daily commute.

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Physical Health

If you’ve been hoping to get more active for a while but time is a constraint, cycling to work is a great way of incorporating some exercise into your every day routine. The minimum recommended amount of moderate physical exercise we should be doing each day is 30 minutes; if your workplace is a 15 minute bike ride away, you’ll be super efficient by getting in your daily exercise as part of your commute.

Cycling is one of the best types of exercise you can do as it utilises nearly all of the major muscle groups. Although the lower half of the body is the primary area that’s worked out, cycling also exercises arm muscles and your core, making it a great all-rounder. As well as improving your muscle strength, cycling also burns body fat so if you’re planning on trying to exercise more to get in shape, cycling is a perfect way to do it!

How you look on the outside isn’t the only benefit – it’s also great for your overall fitness and health. As a cardiovascular exercise, cycling is naturally good for the heart, however, if you usually drive or take public transport to work, opting to cycle instead will also have a huge benefit on your lungs. By using a bicycle instead of a vehicle, you’ll be breathing cleaner air and won’t be exposed to as many harmful pollutants.

As cycling is a low impact exercise, its ideal for those who want to avoid injury or have specific problem areas. For those who are just starting their exercise journey or have limited fitness skills, an electric bike is perfect. Electric bikes offer that extra assistance, giving riders some back up if they start to struggle on the ride.

All of our electric bikes offer the choice for assisted or unassisted pedalling, meaning you can get a good workout and some extra support if you need it when tackling steep inclines or long distances.

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Mental Health

Exercising daily isn’t just beneficial for your physical health, it’s also really important for your mental wellbeing. Exercise stimulates the release of endorphins which are groups of hormones that are secreted in your brain and central nervous system. When endorphins are released, they have a physiological effect on your body, filling it with a positive feeling.

The effect on your mental health is just as impactful as the physical benefits of cycling to work. If you incorporate exercise into your daily routine by cycling to work, you’ll considerably reduce any feelings of anxiety, depression, and stress.

Cycling from work can also give you time to unwind after a long day of work. The day’s stresses and worries can weigh heavily on your mind and it can be hard not to stew over them on your journey home. This can then lead you to take your work stress home with you, potentially causing tension and friction in the household and impacting your personal relationships.

If you cycle home from work instead, the endorphins released from the ride will likely dissolve any stress you have. You’ll most likely find that by the time you’ve reached home, all of the day’s stresses and worries will have been worked off and you can spend your evening relaxing at home.

In the same respect, if you’ve had a hectic morning, driving through traffic to get to work will only increase your stress more, meaning that you’ll arrive to work flustered and in the wrong state of mind. Choosing to cycle to work will mean those endorphins will be released at the beginning of your day, setting you up for a productive day.

As well as improving your emotional wellbeing, cycling is great for your brain health. Exercising whilst focusing on your route and immediate obstacles aids in stimulating brain cell growth, improving your focus and memory.

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Environmental

Reducing your time driving or on public transport will cut down greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, thereby considerably reducing your carbon footprint. A study taken out by British Cycling found that if just 10% of short urban journeys in English and Welsh urban areas outside of London were changed from car to bike, it could save over 100 premature deaths annually that are associated with air pollution.

Swapping your car for a bike will also reduce congestion and free up parking spaces. As a collective the benefits of cycling to work could be huge. If more people started to use their cars less, there would be less demand to clear space for large car parks and new roads despite an ever-growing population. As less space will need to be cleared, this would naturally reduce loss of habitat for wildlife and avoid disturbing local ecosystems.  

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Financial

If you chose to cycle to work instead of driving or taking public transport, you could see yourself making huge savings on annual passes or petrol costs. If you usually drive to work, swapping your car to a bike for your daily commute will also increase the life of your car. Cars have a lot that can go wrong with them which can become pricey as your car gets older. A bike is much cheaper to repair and although it may require some small repairs over the years, they would likely be few and far between.

As you’d be using your car less and reducing your usual annual mileage, your car will hold its value better and it could even bring your car insurance cost down!

Even an electric bike is super low cost, costing approximately 5-10p to fully charge the battery from flat. Our range of electric bikes have a maximum range that varies between 22 and 28 miles, so depending on how often and far you ride, you could be paying pennies to travel to work and back each day. 

If more people chose to cycle instead of driving to work, this would also reduce financial strain on the government as the need for potholes and road repairs would become less frequent.

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Time Management

Amongst the other benefits of cycling to work, time management is probably the most surprising benefit. Although driving is mostly a much quicker mode of transport than cycling, if you live in a place that gets heavily congested, you may find that cycling is a quicker and more efficient way of getting to work and back.

As well as avoiding rush hour traffic, it’s less likely that a problem with your bike will delay you getting to work. Being late for work or even having to miss a day due to “car trouble” can be infuriating, especially when your workload is heavy and you’re not able to work from home. Even if you only cycled to work a few times a week, if you have the option of cycling available, you won’t be heavily reliant on your car as a mode of transport.

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Let us know if you can think of any other benefits of cycling to work. Or if you’re already a cycling commuter and have any tips for people who want to ditch driving for cycling, please comment with your advice!

For those interested in investing in an electric bike, take a look at our range which includes hybrid electric bikes, an electric mountain bike, and a folding electric bike.