It's National Bike Month!

Every day is a good day to celebrate National Bike Month. I want to encourage you to get out on your bike, even if it's just for a spin down the street and back. Do your errands on a bike. Go to an appointment. Yesterday, I had a dentist appointment to make sure I started off on my big bike ride this summer with a healthy set of chompers. I rode to the dentist's office on my bike. Total miles, around 16.  Even if it had only been a mile, it would have been a mile without a car.

Before I retired, I commuted by bicycle. That was pretty much 100 miles a week guaranteed, or around 5000 miles a year. This year, I've already done half that, and have a 3500 mile journey ahead of me, so retirement doesn't have to be an excuse not to ride.

Of course there are lots of reasons to ride.

• Health -- I've lost 15 pounds and shaved 60 points off my cholesterol in the past three months. I've converted some fat into muscle, and feel 20 years younger. That is only a problem if you are under, say, 35. Then maybe you can just feel like you're 18 again...or already, depending on your perspective.
• Environment -- People who've signed up to log their miles for National Bike Month have already burned over 37 million calories, but more importantly, they've already saved nearly 300,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. Reminds me of the bumper sticker: "Burn Carbohydrates, Not Hydrocarbons." Every person who is on a bike is someone who is not in a car. If you've been stuck in traffic lately, you know that we could do with far fewer cars on the road.
• Economy -- Good physical health means lower healthcare costs. Self-powered transportation means less gas in the car, less payment for parking, less for insurance. But good bike gear does cost money. I've got a couple of ride buddies who spent over $20,000 on a tandem (including a custom paint job), but you can go to the local bike shop and spend a couple of hundred dollars for a functional bike, a good bike helmet, front and rear lights, and voila! you're on the road. In Hawaii, where I live, that's four tanks of gas, and you can go on your bike forever!
• Civil duty -- Make the world a better place. Bikes are quieter, bike riders tend to be friendly, they learn to count on each other for support, and they live a much less hectic life than most of their car-borne fellow citizens. 

Go on, give it a wheel...I mean, a whirl. After all, it is National Bike Month.