I hope you’ll forgive the occasional bike-riding post; I’m a commuter biker with great enthusiasm for my two-wheeled, pedal-powered transit vehicle of choice. It’s a great way to save money, and these days, that’s worth getting excited about.

May is National Bike Month, and GHCU is forming its first-ever Bike to Work team. We’re at 6 members now, with a couple more people who just need a little nudge to get them on board and on bike. Our Team Captain is a very experienced cyclist with a couple of STP jerseys in her closet–with her leading our efforts, it should be a great month!

So why bike?
You’ve no doubt heard all the usual reasons, but leave it to a financial institution to focus a little more attention on the fiscal ones.

Here’s how bike commuters save:

• Gasoline is currently at around $2.20-2.25 a gallon here in Seattle. Average commute time is 28 1/2 minutes.
• According to King County’s Commute Trip Reduction website, transportation is responsible for 19% of household expenditures in the Western US–second only to housing.
• Bike commuters generally have fewer health care concerns and therefore lower health care costs.
• Parking in Seattle costs anywhere from $1.50-$2.50 an hour for street parking (if you can find it) and can cost up to $20 or more a day for a space in a parking garage.
• Those who ride to work are generally less stressed and more productive than those who drive.
• Gym membership in Seattle runs around $40 a month. Biking burns calories for free.

If you have reasons to add to my Why Bike list, please do so in the comments section. There are, of course, numerous arguments to be made about the greenliness of biking and the ability to smell roses rather than exhaust, but we’ll get to those another time. In the meantime, consider rolling the Schwinn out of the depths of your garage, dusting it off and saddling up. Recapture the joys of childhood. Just do it with a helmet, please.

Filed under: Financial News and You by Shannon