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Getting to work, running an errand, visiting a friend, or heading to a local eatery or the gym under your own steam, whether you walk, bike, or skate—as some do when Ottawa's Rideau Canal ices over—has big payoffs for the environment as well as for your health and waistline.

How to walk or ride your bike

Of course, you know how to walk or ride your bike but identifying the specifics of making these zero-emission transportation options work may help you to really hop on your bike or lace up your sneakers.

Logistics is a big factor

Lots of options for self-propelled movement exist for the willing eco-enthusiast:

• Do you live within two miles of your destination? Try walking![1]
• Is your end goal one to five miles away? Cycling or even roller blading might be better options.
• If you live too far to go the whole distance on your own steam, consider taking public transportation part way with roller blades, sneakers, or your bike on board (check first to see if bikes are allowed on).
• If you can share a ride, consider walking or biking to a fellow traveller's home and carpooling the rest of the way.

Plan your route in advance

Perhaps a more critical issue for bikers than walkers but planning a route is important for pedestrians, too. Get prepped for your route planning by finding out how walkable or ridable your community is with these bicycling and walkability checklists.

• Walkers should look for a route that's safe, well-lit, preferably with a sidewalk or road with a wide shoulder and not much traffic.
• Bikers and bladers should take a look at the terrain in terms of road smoothness, number of hills, obstructions (sewer grates, railroad tracks, potholes), check the amount of traffic, number of intersections to cross as well as width of roads, and whether they have wide paved shoulders or bike lanes.

The most direct route may not be the best one for your journey. Do a test run for time if you're going to take this route on a regular basis.

Once your trip is underway, be sure to play by the road rules so you arrive at your destination in one piece. Walkers and bikers should obey all traffic laws. Choose walking paths or biking lanes if possible, but if bikers are on the road always ride with the traffic, watch out for potential hazards (e.g. people getting out of parked cars) and use proper hand signals when turning.

And of course, once you reach your destination, find a safe spot to park your gear. If you're blading or cycling to work, talk to your boss beforehand to discuss your plan to bike and to find out if your company has a place to park gear inside; if they don't try to lobby for the creation of one. If you have to keep your bike outside, lock the frame and both wheels to something stationary that can't be cut, unbolted, or removed.

Gear up for safety and comfort

Comfort's important no matter the method of travel. Make sure you've got comfortable footwear, a backpack or ergonomic bag to carry your belongings in, and an umbrella or rain clothes in case of foul weather.

Bikers and roller bladers need to first consider their gear. If you're in the market for a new bike and are serious about cycling to work you might want to look at the emerging category of commuter bikes. With these, the rider sits in an upright position and the bikes have chain guards, fenders, rear luggage racks and lights (crucial for riding at dusk or in the evening).

Regardless of bike style, consider the following additions:

• A helmet is a must and there are plenty of sleek, colorful, well-fitting versions around.
• Padded bike gloves help absorb shock.
• Sunglasses or biking glasses keep bugs and road debris out of your eyes.
• A mirror on your bike or helmet will help you see behind you.
• You can choose padded bike shorts and cycling footwear but at a minimum go with comfortable clothing with pants legs rolled up and some sort of reflective arm/leg band or vest to increase your visibility.

Bike maintenance is also important for a safe, comfortable ride. Check your bike often, especially brakes and tires, and keep it working well. Consider wiping it down after you ride to keep it clean, particularly if you've been out in wet weather. Ensure you won't get caught on the road with a flat tire or broken bike by carrying a small tool kit with a set of Allen wrenches, a tire patch kit, new inner tube, and tire levers. Learn how to change a flat tire if you don't already know how. Also carry a tire pump that can be attached to your bike frame.

A quick change of clothes is a good idea for those heading to a meeting or coffee with a friend. Often, extra clothes can be stored at your office or brought with you by bike. If your workplace has a shower you can rinse off the sweat, if not, using a wash cloth and small towel in the restroom may be your best option. Oh, and don't forget to carry your ID on you, and not on your bike.

Find it! Backpacks and bike lights

Whether you walk or ride a bike, you'll need something to tote your stuff in. A bike rack with panniers can fit a lot but if you need extra carrying capacity there are a variety of green backpacks to choose from. For walkers and roller bladers, a backpack might distribute weight more ergonomically and fit more than a purse or briefcase. Also, front lights and rear reflectors are a must (and often the law) when riding a bike at dusk, night, or in wet weather. Here are some bike lights that use long lasting, ultra energy-efficient LED lights.

Walking or riding your bike helps you go green because...

• You'll help curb global emissions caused by people driving cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Walking and riding bicycles is pollution free.

Americans haven't always had such a passion for and dependence on their cars. As the 20th century began, getting to work or running errands via bicycling alone or in tandem with walking and mass transit was commonplace. The development of the Interstate Highway system in the 1950s and 60s brought automobiles to the forefront, pedal power lost favor and the environmental costs have been high.[2]

Now the average US household has two mid-sized vehicles, which emit upwards of 20,000 pounds of CO₂ every year.[3] This costs the average house approximately 18 percent of its income, which is more than the amount spent on food.[4] Twenty-seven percent of total vehicle miles traveled by Americans are to and from work, which amounts to 734 billion miles each year.[4] Seventy-eight percent of those who commute to work do so solo.[4] Twenty percent of US greenhouse gas emissions comes from vehicle gasoline consumption.[4]

Commute to work

In 1990 the US Census Journey to Work survey showed that 4.3 percent of workers, or 4.9 million people, walked or rode bicycles to work. In 2000, that number dropped to 4.25 million people or 3.3 percent.[5] But as gridlock increases and each rush-hour commuter is stuck in traffic approximately 50 hours a year, adding up to 3.7 billion hours and 23 billion gallons of gas consumed, the many benefits of commuting under one's own power is creating changes in federal policies.[6] The US Department of Transportation (DOT) adopted a new transportation policy in 1990 designed to make it easier for people to bike and walk on roads and backed it up with increased federal funding for bicycling and walking projects of $422 million in 2003 compared to $6 million in 1990.[2]

In Los Angeles, a city infamous for its traffic jams, 60 percent of the commutes are less than five miles, which could be turned into bike trips and in fact, more than half of the people in the US live within five miles of where they work.[7][8] If everyone who lived in this five-mile range left their car at home just one day a week and cycled or walked to work, close to 5 million tons of global warming emissions would be averted every year with the effect of taking a million cars off the road.[2] Every mile walked instead of driven saves a pound of carbon monoxide from being produced,[9] and riding a bike to work eliminates 3.6 pounds of car pollutants each mile with a typical four-mile round-trip bike commute preventing the formation of nearly 15 pounds of auto pollutants that include carbon monoxide, benzene, lead, sulfates, ozone, and cyanide.[10]

The positive effect is already in evidence in California where bicycling keeps about 7 tons of smog-forming gases and close to a ton of inhalable particles out of the air. The city of Davis, California, has the highest rate of bicycling in the country with 17 percent of its 64,000 residents biking to work and 41 percent using bicycles as their main form of transportation. Davis also has safe places for cyclists to ride with more than 100 miles of on-street bicycle lanes.[11] Concern over personal safety keeps some off bikes and a recent national survey shows that 55 percent of Americans want better facilities for bicycling.[8]

Seattle has come up with a Bicycle Master Plan, which envisions a 450-mile network of bike routes and greenways. San Franciscan leaders are working toward making bicycling account for 10 percent of all trips by 2010 and Chicago's Bike2015 Plan would make it a world-class biking city. New York City has plans to install 200 new miles of bike lanes by 2009 and 40 new miles of car-free greenways by 2010.[12] Begun in 2004 and endorsed by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Walk to Work Day is held the first Friday of April followed up by Bike/Walk to Work Day held in mid-May sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists.

Other opportunities

The chances you have to incorporate walking or cycling as a form of transport hinge on the layout of your community and of its walkability or rideability. Research reveals that more than 60 percent of adults say they would start walking or increase their walking if they had safe pathways designed for pedestrians.[13] Living miles away from a town center where you could shop or dine limits your walking or biking options but you can always drive or take mass transit part way and motor in under your own power the rest of the way. Approximately 40 percent of all trips that people make are less than two miles, which equals a 30-minute walk or a 10-minute bike ride.[14] It's during the first few minutes of starting your car that 60 percent of the pollution is created so shorter car trips do more damage to the environment per mile than longer trips.[15]

Related health issues

In addition to helping the planet, walking or riding your bike should offer significant health benefits, especially if you've previously been sedentary. Half of American adults don't get the recommended amount of physical activity. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that 200,000 deaths per year can be linked to physical inactivity.[8] Biking and walking can reduce the risk of heart disease, improve cardiovascular fitness, tone muscles, and help with weight loss or maintenance.[16] On a 10-mile bike commute you'll spare the air a half pound of carbon monoxide emissions while you burn 350 calories.[17]

There may be a few days, however, when summer is at its haziest and hottest and ground-level ozone levels are high that it may not be a healthy choice. Ground-level ozone, or smog, forms when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react with nitrogen oxide (NOx) gases in the presence of sunlight and hot weather. Breathing ozone can cause chest pain, throat irritation, coughing and congestion, as well as worsen asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema.[18] Studies have also shown damage to lung tissue from ozone that may take several days after exposure for total recovery.[19] Additionally, lung tissue may be permanently scarred from repeated exposure.[18] Children and adults who are active outside, people with unusual susceptibility to ozone, as well as those with asthma or other respiratory diseases are at risk from ground-level ozone.[19] Check the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) AIRNow air quality index and if it tops 151, especially if you have a respiratory condition, it might be a day to drive or take mass transit.[20]

Glossary

• ground-level ozone: The main component of smog, ground-level ozone is formed when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react chemically with nitrogen oxides (NOx) when it is sunny and hot outside. Many urban areas have high levels of this summertime pollutant, but rural areas can have increased ozone levels too as wind can carry ground-level ozone hundreds of miles from where it originates. Breathing ozone can cause a number of respiratory health problems, plus it damages ecosystems and vegetation, including crops.
• nitrogen oxide (NOx): A group of highly reactive colorless, odorless gases that form when fuel is burned at high temperatures. The most common man-made sources of NOx are motor vehicles, electric utilities, and other industrial, commercial and residential sources that burn fuels.

External links

• Washington State Bicycle Commute Guide
• Environmental Defense - Bicycle Commuting Enjoys a Rebirth
• Bikestation
• Streetwise Cycling - A Guide to Safe Bicycling in North Carolina
• Commute Solutions - The True Cost of Driving: Calculate Your Commute Costs
• New Jersey Department of Transportation - Creating More Walkable Communities