Dislike to Bike? Benefits of Biking to School - By Silja F.

I don’t quite remember when I started biking to school, but I probably started in 5th grade. I always biked with my older brother, at least until I was in 6th grade myself. The bike ride was around 10 minutes through some small neighborhoods. Now, my commute is much longer, so only doable after school, but I find that even then, there are so many benefits to biking either to or from school.

1. Independence and Mobility

The most important argument for biking either to or from school is the level of independence it offers. My parents don’t have to pick me up from school, which allows me to hang out with my friends after school. One convenient thing about our school is that it’s very close to University Avenue, so going there spontaneously after school is much more practical than having to text your parents and to convince them to drive back home now that they’ve already come to pick you up, and then pick you up again later. This added responsibility helps develop important skills as well, such as time management. Yes, I can go to University Avenue after school, but then I also have to decide when to do my school work. Everything’s a trade off, especially when it comes to time, and I learned this lesson through managing my own after school schedule completely. Furthermore, this doesn’t only apply for after school. Now that I’ve spent some time familiarizing myself with biking, I can even ride places on the weekend. If I want to go shopping either alone or with friends, I can go there by myself.

1. Daily exercise and activity

Next, another strong argument to bike either to or from school is that it schedules in a time for daily exercise. While the CDC recommends one hour a day of medium to high intensity exercise, the minimum recommendation is at least 30 minutes sessions three times a week (Mathe et al.). Exercising has numerous benefits, such as a lower risk of depression, an improved mood, heart disease, preventing high blood pressures, better sleep, boosted productivity, and much more (“Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity”). Commuting via bike is an excellent way to get some exercise in.

1. Environmental and economical benefits

Furthermore, a bike commute is more environmentally and economically friendly than driving a car. While bikes still need to be disposed of as well, and aren’t completely carbon neutral, they don’t regularly use fossil fuels and use less material than cars. Bike paths are also smaller, reducing the need for large paved roads, and allowing for more plant life. This would require more of a collective effort of the whole community and city. It does take longer to commute, and seem more inefficient, but the planet will thank you in the long run, and so will your wallet. The cost of a bike is less than 1% of the price it takes to maintain a vehicle, including gas prices or electricity bills for electric cars. Additionally, bikes do less damage to the roads compared to cars, which make bike paths cheaper to maintain (“Benefits of riding | Transport and motoring”).

Even with these many benefits, there does need to be an important discussion about traffic safety when biking. Practicing the bike path a few times with someone else before regularly using it is one way to do this. This way, traffic rules can be applied to real-life situations. A few basic rules though:

1. Always wear a helmet. You never know when an accident might happen. Your hair isn’t as important as your head, trust me. Not wearing a helmet could literally be a fatal mistake.

2. This one is often overlooked and I didn’t fully realize it myself until I sat in an ambulance and was asked if I wore headphones while biking by the police. Do not wear headphones while biking. If an accident happens, that makes you liable, no matter if the person blatantly drove into your lane and you couldn’t have prevented it. Wearing headphones is a distraction that blocks noises from your hearing. This one is especially important for bikers, since it is appealing to jam to music while biking.

Works Cited

“Benefits of riding | Transport and motoring.” Queensland Government, 26 January 2020, www.qld.gov.au/transport/public/bicycle-riding/benefits-of-riding. Accessed 12 January 2023.

“Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity.” Mayo Clinic, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy- lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389. Accessed 12 January 2023.

Mathe, Jennifer, et al. “Exercise for Teenagers: How Much They Need, and How to Fit It In.” Healthline, 13 April 2022, www.healthline.com/health/fitness/exercise-for-teenagers# bottom-line. Accessed 12 January 2023.