our dear world is ripe with overuse underuse abuse, the imbalance of resources overproduced underproduced, & the wastage, oh wastage galore! it's easy to get depressed thinking about the consequences of our present ways of life.
biking fits in very nicely into the equation that seems so completely impossible to solve: trying to turn the trend of wear & tear on Mother Earth. the reasons for increasing levels of biking abound, & i will hereby endeavour to explore some of them.
ONE
biking does not cause pollution
the issue of pollution is one that is all too easy to simply sweep under the rug as we once again ease into the leatherupholstered seat of our glossy car & cruise away. I won’t go into the statistics of the number of cars that infest this earth, but we all know the general picture. it’s enough to look at any street in any city to assess the damage. here we can mention the tragic example of china, where bikes used to be the main mode of transport, but the rise to modernism has brought the Individually Owned Vehicle to the masses. considering the population of china, this is scary indeed.
TWO
bikes do not cause congestion (well, tour de france is perhaps the exception….)
overcrowding of vehicles is a major problem in many big cities. not enough p places, & woe you if you are out in rush hour! kabul is a prime example of this. this city was definitely not built for the huge influx of exhuastpuffing engines infesting every spare inch of street. & not any old cars at that, a large percentage happen to be big oversized landrovers & landcruisers (which, mind you, do come in handy during the muddymuddy winters…). not to mention the warmachines, & the ramshackle busses that have so graciously been handed down from various european countries where their aged services are no longer required.
THREE
biking gives you free exercise
it is a concerning fact that obesity is now a serious nutritional problem, a bizarre contrast to the starvation & poverty that is a stark reality for so many millions. too much sitting still, too much standing still, too much eating - & ‘bad’ eating at that. it is suggested that a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise is necessary to maintain health. by biking to work, to the grocery store, or just for the sheer lovely pleasure of feeling the wind in your face, these 30 minutes would be spent with no effort!! (granted: this does not work in afghanistan at present. although many people do bike, these people are exclusively men. i have been told by a couple afghans that afghan ladies certainly used to bike. but at present….? this is indeed a very sad thing.)
furthermore, biking does not put much strain on your lower limbs & joints, & can be very useful for an array of different pains & aches.
FOUR
biking makes you happy
it is generally believed that endorphines are released when muscles are in action. endorphine is a biochemical compound released after strenuous exercise which acts as a natural painkiller & gives you a sense of well-being, even exhilaration. biking is a prime endorphine-releaser!
furthermore, the pleasure of being engulfed by sights & sounds & smells as you cruise through fields & forests, the satisfaction of gaining the crest of an impossible hill that you thought would never end, then flying down the other side at 50-60km/hr, singing some crazy song from highschool & feeling that you might just lift off the ground.
FIVE
biking gets you where you need to be
ok, so biking is not as fast as driving. but why does everything have to go so dreadfully fast? (i am very much aware of a contradiction here... i tend to be the worst offender of squeezing too many things into too little time, & rushing is thereby guaranteed... but we all need something to work on...) back to the point: with a bike you can get to most places, in fact, in some cases it can be quicker than the public transport due to traffic & all (tried & tested in gothenburg for 5 years, & madrid for 2 weeks). plus, as with walking, you are much more likely to notice the little details of life as you roll along: breathe in the smells, the wind, the birdsong. & the weather is only as big a deal as you make it. we have a saying in sweden: there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. sure, you'll need another layer to deal comfortably with rain & snow, but riding with raindrops in your face, spraying through puddles or taking a tumble in a pile of snow can be very invigorating! (although i have to say, a strong headwind is not my favourite.... but who said life was perfect?)
SIX
biking does not (generally) kill
sure there are accidents, but i'll bet anything most of them are associated with crazy drivers not used to or willing to share the road. deaths in traffic are so unnecessary, & could be virtually eliminated by more people biking!!
SEVEN
biking is the way forward.
the end.
