Low Impact

In Australia, October 17, 2007 is national Ride To Work Day where people are encouraged to leave the car at home and ride their bicycles into work.

(Think of it like the Walk to Work day that was on the 5th of October, but faster, and a good excuse to wear lycra… )

Ride to Work Day has been going for a number of years now, and is a great event.  In most capital cities there is a big breakfast held which is free for participants.  In addition to the main breakfast, “Ride to Work” coordinators at a number of individual workplaces hold their own breakfast too.  A free breakfast is a great way to start the day, and you can swap commute stories with other riders.

It’s been calculated that if you live 10 kilometres from work (so 20 to 30 minutes bike ride away), you can save over 1700 kg of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere compared to driving the car.  Not only that, its great for your aerobic fitness, and you can save a fortune on petrol and parking expenses!

A survey of the riders who took part in last year’s event were still riding to work 5 months later, so as a way of introducing people to an alternative to the climate-changing car it seems to be a success.   Why not give it a go?  Spring is here, the weather is beautiful, and you’ll be reducing your impact on the environment.

(And its up to you whether you choose to wear lycra or not…)

Categories: environment, reduce, transport

Tags: commute, cycling, emissions, ride-to-work, transport