Events: Next Week Is Bike To Work Week

If you haven't already heard, May is National Bike Month, while Bike-to-Work Week is next week from May 12-16 and Bike-to-Work Day is on Friday, May 16. With the reality of $4.00 per gallon gas, commuting to work makes more and more economical sense in addition to the ecological and health benefits that it provides.

For example, my car gets about 21 miles per gallon, nothing to brag about, but it's better than most SUVs on the road. That equates to one dollar spent for every 5.25 miles that I drive (at $4/gallon). If I ride my bike to work three times a week the 14-mile round trip saves me $2.67 per day, or $8 a week, or $32 per month. That's almost a week's worth of groceries and it doesn't include all the bike commuting I do on weekends. If I rode 5 days a week I'd be looking at $13.35 a week or $53.40 per month savings. Some employers even offer monetary benefits to bicycle commuters, which adds to the savings.

If you are looking for info about commuting to work one good place to start is www.commutebybike.com. There you can figure out what equipment to use, search their commuter bike database, locate bike convoys in the US or calculate your own saving on a gas savings calculator.

The official website for National Bike Month is www.bikeleague.org. Check their events section to see what bike month and bike to work week events are going on in your community.

So do your pocketbook and health and the planet some good and ride your bike to work next week.