World Bicycle Day 2022: Why we should adopt cycling as a means of transport

While growing up in a semi-urban neighbourhood, we (myself and my peers) consider bicycles as objects of fun. We will starve ourselves, take our lunch money, go to a bicycle renting service to rent a bicycle for some minutes, and take turns in riding it to and fro our street. We often ran into trouble with the renting service because we usually do not return the bicycle at the designated time. That was in the past. Today, a bicycle is so much more.

Every June 3rd has been earmarked as a day to celebrate world bicycle day. The day is specifically set aside to draw the attention of people to the benefits of using bicycles as an alternative form of moving from one place to another. While today is not June 3rd, this is a belated post in commemoration of the day.

Using bicycles as an alternative of transport has a lot of benefits for individuals, the environment, and the planet at large. In other words, apart from being able to achieve the aim of moving from one place to another by cycling, individuals also serve to benefit through the action. There are several scientifically-backed benefits of cycling. These include improvement in mental health, improved immune system, improved physical fitness, better lung health, and reduced chances of coronary heart disease among other benefits. This post cycling weekly tells in detail about the health benefits of cycling. Little wonder that cycling has become one of the major sports in the world.

When it comes to the environment, cycling as an alternative means of transport has very little to no impact on the environment when it comes to pollution. Depending on the technology, bicycles can be 100% manual or electric. Electric bicycles enjoy an extra boost during pedaling as a result of a battery-powered motor. If the source of the electric power in an electric bike is clean, the impact on the environment would be the same with manual bikes. Fossil fuel-powered vehicles impact the environment and the planet both by producing gaseous pollutants, some of which are greenhouse gases, and noise. We all know what greenhouse gases do to the planet (global warming) and those who stay near major roads can tell the annoying effects of noise pollution from vehicles.

There are a couple of arguments mitigating against the usage of bicycles as a mode of transportation. A major one of them is speed. Bicycles are generally believed to only be suitable for short distances due to speed limitations. While this might be true for some bicycles, advancement in technology has made it possible to produce bikes that be as fast as motor vehicles. The current speed record for a bike stands at over 183 miles per hour - not so many people need that much speed even with cars.

Another argument being used to oppose cycling as a means of transport is the possible side effects of long-term cycling. I remember telling someone why cycling as a means of transport is better and he jokingly pointed out that it is the prostate that suffers the consequences in men. I had no data to argue against him, so I just let it be.

Apart from the unconfirmed effects on prostate health, some other side effects have been published but more data is required in order to accept them beyond scientific doubts. Some of the effects that have been pointed out include genital numbness, priapism, infertility, elevated PSA, erectile dysfunction (ED), and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), but according to a research published in Urology Times-Journal in 2020, more data is required in order to arrive at reasonable conclusions. ^source

A cycler even once pointed out that cycling may negatively impact one's bone density, citing his personal experience as evidence. You can read more about his report here. The bottom line is, in science, a correlation does not mean causation and the sample size in his report will fail the test of science.

All in all, immense and confirmed benefits exist in cycling both for the health of humans and that of the planet. While the science world is busy researching and getting more data on the possible negative effects, a lifestyle of moderate cycling will most likely not hurt anyone.

What do you think?