• Walking and bicycling gradually build strength and muscle tone with little risk of over-exercise or strain. An average bicyclist burns about 300 calories during a 20-minute ride, while improving coordination and reducing stress.
• Non-motorized travel or commuting can easily provide enough exercise to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that adults engage in moderate-intensity physical activities for 30 minutes or more at least five days a week.
• As an effective type of aerobic exercise, bicycling can result in noticeably improved health, lowering risk factors for many medical conditions, including cardio-vascular disease, obesity, type II diabetes, depression, and memory loss.
• A major study of 10,000 British civil servants suggested that those who bicycled 20 miles a week were half as likely to suffer heart disease as their non-cycling colleagues.
Totally devoted to preparing remarks and visuals for a presentation to the Rotary Club tomorrow. The benefits of non-motorized travel and recreation is something I’ve thought about intensively for at least five years now. Beyond advocacy, my concepts are turning toward the dynamics of a more “livable” community. Not that the greater accommodation of walkers and bicyclists is some sort of panacea, but when you line up all the benefits — Economic Development, Neighborhood Preservation , Tourism Promotion, Environmental Stewardship , Health and Well-being, and Overall Quality of Life — it sure does look like a hell of a solution to a lot of perplexing issues. Donald Draper said, “Make it simple, but significant.”
Desirable Habitats