Why Ride?
- It's time to get kids riding. In just one generation:
- The percentage of U.S. kids who walk or bike to school has dropped by 70%.
- Childhood obesity has tripled. Centers for Disease Control
- Bicycle commuting beats sitting in traffic.
- Each U.S. rush-hour auto commuter spends an average of 50 hours a year stuck in traffic. Texas Transportation Institute
- This costs the U.S. more than $63 billion in lost productivity and wasted fuel.EPA/USDOT’s Best Workplaces for Commuters Briefing, 2005
- More cycling means less dependence on foreign oil.
- 10% of global oil production goes toward fueling America’s cars and trucks.Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
- The U.S. could save 462 millions of gallons of gasoline a year by increasing cycling from 1% to 1.5% of all trips. Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, Bike Traffic, May 2002
- Riding a bike is cheaper than driving a car.
- On a commute of 10 miles, bicyclists save roughly $7.50 and spare the air ½ pound of carbon monoxide emissions. They also burn 350 calories! SmartTrips
- Based on gas prices of about $3/gallon, the annual cost of owning, operating, and driving a passenger car roughly 15,000 miles is nearly $11,000. (It costs roughly $120 a year to maintain a bike.) American Automobile Association
- Biking can help you live longer.
- Just three hours of bicycling per week can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%. League of American Bicyclists
- Bicycling is good for the economy.
- The U.S. bicycle industry sold $6.2 billion in bicycles and equipment (retail value) in 2005. National Sporting Goods Association