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Rethinking your commute

Snow is at last clearing in the valley, and while it’s still a little on the cool side for some people, bikes are making their annual reappearance on our roads and trails.
andrewbyline

Snow is at last clearing in the valley, and while it’s still a little on the cool side for some people, bikes are making their annual reappearance on our roads and trails.

Before I moved to Spring Creek last September, I used to commute daily to Function Junction from my previous residence in White Gold — a round trip distance of about 16 km, depending on what route I took, and it would take me about 25 minutes each way at a moderate pace on my hard tail mountain bike. I could have shaved off five to 10 minutes if I switched to slick tires, replaced my big ring, or bought a road bike, but I liked having to work a little harder to get from A to B, and the ability to make a few side trips through the woods on my way home.

Getting on that bike was often the best part of my day, with huge physical and mental benefits. I loved the views, the fresh air, the rush of ripping downhill at top speed and cutting 90 degree corners by leaning into turns, and seeing how high I could ollie off the bumps and rocks on the backroad to Function Junction. I even liked climbing, and seeing how quickly I could get to the top of each hill. The daily commute was so enjoyable that I was often sorry to get to my destination, always wishing the ride was just a little bit longer.

With gas prices now firmly lodged in the dollar-a-litre range, and usually higher, there is also a rock solid financial reason to commute by bicycle. You may need a car sometimes, and have to pay for the upkeep and insurance anyway, but that still doesn’t justify driving everywhere when cycling is a viable alternative.

Say you drive just 20 km a day, to work in the village and back, making a few errands along the way. For example, if you drive a new model minivan which gets between 19 and 26 miles per gallon ( www.epa.gov/greenvehicle ) on average — the equivalent of 30.59 km and 41.86 km per every 3.54 litres — you get between 8.64 and 11.82 km per litre. Therefore driving 20 km a day, at the current 1.05 per litre, will cost you $1.77 to $2.43 a day. When you include the time you spend idling, parking, and the costs of maintenance — about $800 to $900 on average a year according to BikesAtWork.com — the cost of driving could jump to over $5 a day just to get to work and back.

And that’s just for an average vehicle with average mileage. If you drive a gas guzzler, and a lot of people do, you could be paying over $6 a day just to get from place to place.

It may not seem like much, but it adds up to an extra $100 a month, or $1,200 a year, on top of the cost of owning and insuring a vehicle.

If you can get by without a vehicle, you can save well over $6,000 a year when you include the cost of insurance, the lease/purchase/depreciation of your vehicle, parking costs, and the cost of gas and maintenance. For the average person, vehicle costs are their second-biggest expense after accommodation.

Comparatively, buying one-month bus passes all year will cost you $600. Biking to work for six of those months will drop your commuting costs to $300.

While these figures might not sound that impressive if you already have a car, and bikes do cost money to buy and maintain, the physical and mental benefits of cycle commuting are where the true benefit lies.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, adults should get about 30 to 60 minutes (minimum!) of moderate physical activity every day. That level of activity speeds up your metabolism, lowers blood pressure and heart rates, and promotes weight loss, cardiovascular health, bone density, muscle development, and your immune system.

Visit www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/pau-uap/paguide/index.html to check out the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Physical Activity Guide.

Exercise also has positive impacts on mental health, promoting the production of endorphins and adrenaline, which results in better sleeps, reduced stress, enhanced mental alertness, and a more positive self-image.

To find out how commuting by bike can benefit you mentally, there’s a good article at www.fitness.gov/mentalhealth.htm .

If you have a heavy downhill bike you don’t feel like pedaling to work and back, you may want to pick up a cheap commuter for getting around. WORCA ( www.worca.com ) is holding its annual bike swap on Saturday, April 21 at the Whistler Creekside base, outside of Dusty’s, with the proceeds going to youth cycling programs. Old mountain bikes with slick tires work pretty well, but if it’s in your budget the fastest way to commute is by road bike.

And if you think bikes are slow, keep in mind that a rider is poised to break the 81 mph (130 km/h) barrier at a test in May. Visit www.wired.com and www.popsci.com for details on both the bike and the record attempt.