This post originally appeared on the Sheclismo blog
We’re very excited to publish this guest post from one of our young riders, Ren. She wrote this persuasive essay for school. We couldn’t agree more with her logic. Go, Ren, go!
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| The author out for a ride |
BIKE VS CAR
By Serenity Christiansen
You’re driving your car to work on Friday. You have a big meeting to go to and you can’t miss it. Poof, you get a flat and now you have to call a tow. Great, now I’m late for work you think to yourself as you wait for a tow. This would not have happened if you had rode a bike. Then you could have patched your tire, pumped it up, and gone on your way.This is why people should commute by bike because you exercise more, it’s eco friendly, it costs less on a daily basis, and it is less inconvenient.
When you sit in a car for 10 minutes you burn about 20 calories. Riding a bike for 10 minutes you can burn about 54 calories. Also, when you ride a bike you work your quadriceps, hamstrings, calf, gluteus, deltoid, bicep, and tricep. That’s a lot of muscles and riding your bike daily will just make them stronger. If you want to be a rag doll go ahead I’m not going to stop you, but if you want to be a strong, healthy, awesome human being you should ride your bike.
On-road vehicles make more than twenty percent of the global warming pollution according to Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Cars and trucks also make over a third of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides in our atmosphere. Bicycles don’t make carbon dioxide or noise pollution. Which makes life easier and cleaner for people living near a busy street. Right now the ice caps are melting and polar bears are dying, so help stop this from happening by riding a bike instead!
When you drive a car you can spend anywhere from $3.38 to $3.91 on gas per gallon depending on where you get it. Think how much do you spend in a year on gas, oil changes, tires, and other “toys” for your car. When you ride your bike you get a bike and a helmet, that is about all you need to commute. In the long run you probably spend about $100-150 on commuting a year by bike. Whereas driving a car you spend about $5,000. So you tell me, which is the better deal?
When you drive a car it is so inconvenient. Waking up early to start the car, calling a tow cause you have a flat, or driving out of your way to quench its thirst. Cars are so needy! Bikes only need a small amount of attention. In the morning you just go, no waking up early to start the car. Getting a flat you just patch the hole and no going to the gas station to fill her up!
Most people probably think that biking is tiring and hard, but if you have the right bike it will be easy! The seat needs to be adjusted correctly and you need to have a good bike that is the right size. The gears will make it easier to pedal so really riding a bike isn’t all that hard.
You should ride your bike every day to work because you exercise more, it’s eco friendly, it costs less on a daily basis, and it is less inconvenient. Wouldn’t it be nice to be a person who is like that? Everyday you have less work to do because you rode your bike instead of driving a needy, ugly, stupid car. So, answer this do you want to be a lazy couch potato that has no money or do you want to be a healthy, strong, awesome, and cool person that commutes by bike?