May is Bike Commute Month

May is Bike Commute month.

In 2007, participants in Sacramento fell just short of the million mile mark. With renewed vigor of a new year and a new challenge, hopes are that we reach that million mile mark this May!

I will be doing my part, as will Chris. It's our intention to ride everyday in May. No excuses. (See how well I’ve done with the Daily Picture challenge? This will not be easy!)

I have an issue though – our local grocery stores do not have bike racks. My work has 2 bike racks for 545 employees + a few hundred contractors. If these companies really want to put their money where their mouths are, wouldn’t they offer bike racks?

Moving on…

I've talked alot about using your tax rebate wisely and even have a badge posted on the side of my blog championing this idea – don’t mindlessly spend your rebate check on “stuff” that will not benefit you, that will create a ton of waste (in its packaging and short life [planned obsolescence is a bitch]), and clutter for your home and mind. Sunset Magazine pitched some great ideas on how to spend it wisely, and one involved buying a bike. Novel concept.

How will buying/riding a bike help the economy?

If you must, buying a bike will help the economy because if you care, you’ll find a local business to buy it from. Do you shop for bikes at Big-Name-Sports-Stores? I don't. There's a ton of great little independent bike stores in the Sacramento region that my dollars will help support far more than those big box sports stores whose sales are shipped to some Corporate HQ somewhere. Plus the people at these small shops actually have trained help that know what they’re talking about.

You'll help your health. Cycling, even at a low moderate speed like my meager 8-10 mph (120lbs.) can burn an average of 250 calories an hour, which for me is the 30 minute trek each way to and from work each day, simple as that. What about you?

Biking can help improve air quality by getting more cars off the road. Sacramento suffers from some of the worst air quality in the nation in the middle of summer, we even have a website devoted to a daily forecast of the air quality. Imagine if we could take thousand cars off the road, and the impact that could make to my coworker and others suffering from asthma.

While we won't receive our rebate until later this summer, and we're still trying to figure out what to do with it. We'll most likely save it because we won’t want to spend it.

But we will be purchasing new bikes this weekend. It’s time. Our mountain bikes are still good for dirt riding (as far as I know we’re keeping them), but for the average everyday road biking we’re going to be doing, a lighter bike makes sense. I’ve been really torn about buying a new bike just because of my beliefs here, but I think it’s the right decision for us because WE WILL RIDE MORE with them.

And thus continue to shrink our footprint.

Will you join me in May for Bike Commute Month?