Commuting to work by bicycle has many health, economic, and environmental benefits. Riding your bike to work can increase your physical activity and promote a healthier lifestyle through reduced risks of heart disease and stroke and improved mental health. Bicycling to work can also eliminate emissions that otherwise would have been produced when driving, overall reducing harmful effects on the environment.

Bicycle transportation is good for a lot of things — it’s healthy, it’s green, it’s quiet, it’s fun, it builds community. It also makes financial sense, and the magnitude of bicycling’s economic impact gets far less attention than it deserves.

But to those of us who join, bicycling as a preferred form of transportation feels almost like a secret club, the key to a more balanced, healthy day and a way to live more lightly on our planet. It is a choice to spend time outside in the fresh air, using the power of our bodies to get around, rather than being trapped in traffic, locked away from the natural world and our fellow human beings.