I ride my bike for exercise. I ride my bike for transportation (even throughout an icy Minnesota winter). I ride my bike because it’s better for the environment and better for my community than climbing behind the steering wheel every time I need more bread or wine or toilet paper.
But the biggest reason I ride my bike– in all weather day and night– is because it makes me happy. It’s meditation, therapy and pure hedonistic pleasure all rolled into one. Rarely do I wheel my beat-up old Trek back into the garage without a smile on my face.
I used to think this was just one of my own quirks, but new evidence keeps pouring in that bicycling boosts creativity, health and general well-beingifor many people.
This year, we’ve seen Mutual Aid in Motion.
From scaling sharing hubs to Mutual Aid 101 trainings, we’re helping communities build the tools they need.
Every dollar fuels lasting resilience – proving that when we move together, we all move forward.
Sarah Goodyear—an insightful urbanist blogger from Brooklyn—points to a Danish study showing that kids who bike (or walk) to school do better in class. (Actually, these findings are an accident; the researched discovered this while studying the effects of diet on school performance.)
But bikes aren't just for kids. Goodyear directs us to an article in Britain’s well-respected Independent newspaper that quotes Harvard Medical School Psychiatrist John Ratey saying: “Cycling is also increasing a lot of the chemistry in your brain that make you peaceful and calm.”
Ratey goes on to describe riding a bike as “like taking a little bit of Prozac and a little bit of Ritalin.” By which he means it's useful for treating both depression and ADHD.
Goodyear’s conclusion: “We need more research into cycling and brain science.”
My conclusion: Time to take a bike ride.
