HAPPY BIKE TO WORK DAY!!!!
To honour this amazing day (and month :D) I’ve decided to write about what I’ve learned from the last month of biking to work everyday as well as why YOU too should bike to work 😉 #amIConvincingYet.
10 reasons why you should bike to work (in toronto because idk if this applies anywhere else…)
1. IT’S FASTER
No matter how you commute around downtown Toronto, whether it’s walking, driving, running, jogging, public transit, swimming, crawling, you name it, biking is the fastest way to go. It takes about 30-40 minutes for me to subway from my house to my workplace but only 12 minutes to bike. IF YOU’RE A FAN OF SLEEP… THIS IS A GREAT OPTION FOR YOU.
“I’ll just peddle faster…” – me every morning
2. YOU CAN INCREASE THE SIZE OF YOUR… BUTT – LIKE ACTUALLY
Literally everyday I bike I feel my butt getting bigger and I’ve gotten my roommate to testify for it. Not only has she felt my butt but she has also tried biking herself and she agrees that the size of your bottom increases significantly. If this is something you’re interested in… I recommend biking 😉
3. YOU DO YOUR CARDIO FOR THE DAY
We all hate cardio. Why not hit two birds with one stone by biking to work and also getting your daily exercise?!?!
4. YOU DON’T HAVE TO TALK TO HUMANS OR OTHER LIVING THINGS
One of the things I hate about taking public transit is having to either interact with people early in the morning or even just looking at people because there’s really not much else you can do. The worst is when you can’t even find a seat and you’re forced to stand for a long @$$ time *sigh*. ANYWAY, what I’m trying to say is that biking avoids all that 😉
5. YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE DOING SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE
If you’re like me and you hate dead time (that feeling where you’re just waiting for something…), biking really reduces that because commuting can give you the feeling that you’re not doing anything. It’s extremely exciting to be on the road by navigating through cars and trying to figure out what roads you can take.
6. IT’S HEALTHY AFÂ
This is a pretty obvious one… biking burns more calories than any of the other methods of commuting. Also, refer to the whole “gaining a bigger butt” point (above).
7. IT’S FUN
I hate walking. I hate running. If those two sentences apply to you, biking is most likely going to also be a fun activity for you (unless you don’t know how then I recommend learning!!! :D) Biking is the most amazing feeling because you have the wind in your hair so you feel like a cover girl (easy, breezy, beautiful #COVERGIRL)
8. IT’S GREAT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Okay this is also a very obvious point. By biking (and walking I guess… but that’s boring AF) you’re not increasing your environmental footprint by stomping all over the place with emissions etc.
9. IT’S INEXPENSIVE
THIS IS MY FAVOURITE POINT. The fact that I’m biking everyday to work as opposed to taking the subway… I save about $150+ a month. You know what that means? MORE MONEY FOR EXCHANGE *WOOT WOOT*
10. THE BEST WAY TO EXPLORE TORONTO
If you’re new to the city, biking is also the best way to get to know Toronto. I usually bike at a slower pace because I like looking at all the stores and boutiques around me as well as all the cool-looking restaurants to discover where I want to go next.
WHAT I LEARNED FROM BIKING
Before deciding to bike to work, I messaged my friends that I knew who already biked regularly (shoutout to Maria, Nancy, and my brother #StinkyJohn). They gave me lots of great advice so I thought I’d share here!
“is it safe??”
yes it is extremely safe!! First, there are many bike lanes around Toronto (and you can navigate yourself through Google map) so you can stay on those to be safe. Additionally, there are many bikers around Toronto so as you’re biking you feel more comfortable since there are lots of people around you doing the same thing.
“how do you left turn?”
You can learn how to use hand signals but that usually requires you to be able to bike with one hand. Quite honestly, I haven’t mastered the hand signals and I’m still quite scared to turn left so instead, I go straight, then I go straight again by using two crosswalks.
“do you have to wear a helmet?”
There are many people biking around Toronto without a helmet but I honestly recommend one especially if you’re not going to be biking through bike lanes specifically. Also, you never know what crazy drivers are out there so it’s best to protect your head 🙂 I think the one thing I’m unwilling to give up is my helmet because I’ve previously had a concussion before and it was not pretty.
WHAT TO BUY
1. BIKE (DUH)
After talking to my good friend Maria, she recommended buying a hybrid (half mountain & half road) bike because the street car tracks are very thin and your road bike might get stuck. This was one of the best advice I’ve had because I was able to see how thin the tracks are and it can definitely be very dangerous!
ps. special shoutout to my amazing friend Emily for lending me her hybrid bike all summer <3 love you
2. HELMET
Once again, kinda optional but I highly recommend it.
3. LOCK
Nancy advised me to get a Kryptonite U-lock which has been quite amazing this past month since my bike hasn’t been stolen.
4. BELL (MANDATORY)
According to the law in Ontario, you have to have a bell on your bike or you will get ticketed. Moral of the story is get a bell because when you slowly become a road rager like every other biker out there, you want to use something to scream at people 😉
5. BASKET (OPTIONAL)
You don’t really need to get this but since I use my bike for everything (work, grocery shopping, hiking, meeting up with other humans, shopping for clothes… etc) it has been super nice having a basket to put my things in.
Anyway, I hope this blog post was helpful and I hope this has inspired you to bike to work! This was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made this summer and I’ve enjoyed the last month of biking so far. If you have any questions feel free to message me (or a more experienced biker actually because I’m still quite a noob).
Love,
Lisa