Just a sampling of the countless benefits of biking:
- Aerobic exercise [like bicycling] can improve self-esteem and have an antidepressant effect.
- An adult cyclist typically has a level of fitness equivalent to someone 10 years younger and a life expectancy two years above the average.
- Cyclists on average live two years longer than non-cyclists and take 15% fewer days off work through illness.
- One study found that cycling improves levels of well-being, self-confidence, and tolerance to stress while reducing tiredness, difficulties with sleep and a range of medical symptoms.
- It takes more than a billion gallons of fuel to drive around the extra weight Americans have gained since 1960.
- Each hour per day spent driving corresponds with a 6% increase in the odds of being obese.
- Bicycle commuting burns an average of 540 calories per hour.
- Three-quarters of American adults will be overweight or obese by 2015.
