On yer bike!

I am not the world’s most active person. I enjoy good food, fine wine and lazing about on a Sunday afternoon with a interesting book and a tasty snack. It’s not that I don’t exercise – I do – but my dedication to gym visits could definitely do with a little (okay, large) bolster now and then. There is one form of exercise I enjoy, actually I enjoy it so much I don’t really see it as exercise, and that is riding my bike.

To me my bicycle is a dream. Sunny yellow with a frame dating back to the late 1940’s, it is free of the complications of gears and proudly sports back pedal brakes and a lovely wicker basket. When I lived in the city my bike could get me around faster than a car, I never had to pay for fuel or parking, and had the added benefit of knowing I was doing something positive both for myself and the environment. Is it any wonder that bike sales in Australia have outstripped car sales for the last eight consecutive years?

Bicycles are the ultimate form of transport. On a bike you can travel up to 1037km on the energy equivalent of a single litre of petrol, you consume 1/50th of the oxygen consumed by a car ( and expel no pollutants) and protect yourself against obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and stress.

Today is National Ride to Work Day, an event which all us ‘box-ers’ gladly took part in as part of our office resolution to reduce our carbon footprint and care for the environment. With environmental concerns topping the list of issues which worry most Australians, cycling is the perfect way for almost everybody to do their bit for our precious environment.

I must admit that during the Busselton winter, conditions are often less than perfect for cycling. But with summer in the air, do what the team at Jack in the box are doing – dust down those bikes and get peddling. Your body, wallet and environment will thank you for it!