Cycle to Work…Even at Home?

Thursday 4 August is ‘Cycle to Work’ Day – and there’s never been a better time to take part!

Would you cycle to work? Of course, not everyone can – and even fewer will feel like doing so. There are lots of reasons that make this an difficult prospect: distance, school runs, road safety, the British weather, lack of changing or showering facilities.

What if all of that was taken care of? Could you be tempted? In August, there’s no school run, the weather is better, it’s light for longer and roads tend to be quieter.

The recent rises in fuels costs may be persuading many commuters to think again about cycling to work, particularly in the summer months. Recently, the Evening Standard reported that cycling around London, from March to June,was 25% up on pre-pandemic levels.

So is it worth trying, just for a day, to see if cycling to work is something you can realistically consider for other days in the year? And what about trading up to an e-bike, to take away the worst of the physical effort?

As the official website keenly points out:

“Cycling to work helps you stay fit and healthy, burns a lot of calories, and reduces your carbon footprint too. Find out how cycling could benefit your health and environmental impact.”

If you’re working from home on 4 August, you’ll probably be thinking that this has nothing to do with you. But just hold on a minute – maybe it does…

With all the health benefits of cycling, the suitability of the time of year, the fact that you’re already very close to work and you also have changing facilities, why not consider cycling to ‘work’, even when you work from home? You can choose your own route, as short as you like or as safe as possible. You can even squeeze a quick shower in, when you get back! Better still, you can do that any other day, as well.

Okay, you didn’t technically need to ‘cycle to work’ but you do get all of the health benefits and none of the impracticalities. Suddenly, there just don’t seem the same number of reasons not to! For more interesting articles, tips and advice about cycling to work, have a look at the scheme’s blog pages.