• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Mail
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Strategic Plan
    • Our History
    • Financials & Governance
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Newsroom
  • Legislative Watch
  • Events
    • California Bicycle Summit
    • California Dream Ride
    • House Parties
  • Join Us
CalBike
  • Take Action
    • E-Bike Rebate Petition
    • Pre-order a bicycle-themed license plate
    • Better Street Design
  • Our Initiatives
    • Transportation Justice
      • CTC Assessment
      • SB 1 Campaign Page
      • Mobility Justice Labs
      • Breaking Down the Silos
    • Streets for Everyone
      • Complete Streets
      • Low-Stress Bikeway Networks
      • Better Bikeway Design
    • Healthy Climate and Communities
      • E-Bike Campaign
      • Autonomous Vehicles Must Make Biking Better
      • Bike Tourism for Economic Development
      • Bike Sharing
      • Community Bike Shops
    • A Stronger Movement
      • California Bicycle Summit
      • The Untokening
      • Electing Allies to Office
      • Walk Bike Youth Leaders
  • Let’s Ride
    • Why Ride?
    • Crash Help
    • California Bicycle Laws
    • Map & Routes
    • Bike Commuting
  • Resources
    • Register Your Bike
    • Fact Sheets and FAQs
    • Design Best Practices
    • Funding Sources
    • Other Resources
      • Libraries and Information Centers
      • Models and Best Practices
      • Key Studies and Reports
      • Great Presentations
    • Our Video Channel
  • The Latest
    • Blog
    • Newsroom
    • Press Releases
    • 2019 Legislative Watch
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Menu
You are here: Home / Go For a Ride / Why Ride?

Why Ride?

Bicycling is great tool for your community. It makes it safer, healthier, and more prosperous. It’s also great for you. Here are some great reasons to ride and some resources that back up the benefits of bicycling.

Health

Riding a bicycle is fantastic exercise. Every year, the scientific evidence mounts ever higher that bicycling is great for your body and brain. Riding a bike burns calories, lowers your risk of heart disease and diabetes, and builds strength and endurance. It makes you happier, less stressed, and smarter. Bicycling fights insomnia and fatigue, and boosts mental health. It slows aging. In a 2015 study, scientists found that serious recreational riders ages 55 to 79 who bicycle regularly had the reflexes, bone density, muscle mass, memory, endurance, strength, and metabolic health of people in their twenties!

Learn more about bicycling and health from PeopleForBikes.

Safety

Riding a bicycle is safe, and the more who ride, the safer it gets. If you’re reasonably careful, there’s almost no chance of getting killed or seriously injured while riding a bike. In 71 million trips on bike share bikes in the United States since 2008, there has not been a single fatality. Per mile, a pedestrian has a 3.5 times greater chance of a fatal injury than a bicyclist. It’s getting safer. The risk of injury while riding a bike in California has dropped 42% just since 2000.

It’s safer for our community, too. Thanks to the well-documented “safety in numbers” effect, the more bicycles on the streets, the safer the streets get for everyone—not just people on bikes, but people walking and driving become safer too!

The best way to think about bicycle safety is to look at the “risk-benefit ratio” (comparing the years of life lost from bicycling collisions with the years of life gained from its health benefits). The risk-benefit ratio for bicycling has been studied in a wide variety of peer-reviewed articles, and has been calculated, in some studies, to be 1:5; in others, it’s been found to be as high as 1:96. That means that on the whole, bicyclists gain 5 to 96 years of life for every year of life lost!

Learn more on bicycle safety from PeopleForBikes.

Prosperity

Bicycling can make you and your community richer. Dollars saved at the gas pump create sixteen times more jobs when spent elsewhere in the local economy. Because it’s almost free, the bicycle gives people the freedom to get to work or services even when money is tight. Studies show that whenever streets get bike lanes, especially protected bike lanes, businesses make more money. People arriving to a business district by bike spend more money than those who arrive by transit or by car.

Learn more about the economic benefits of bicycling from PeopleForBikes.

Environment

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the most effective way to reduce CO2 emissions is to reduce fossil fuel consumption. If you ride your bike around town five times a week, replacing just a 2-mile car trip each time, in a year you will keep 440 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) from entering the atmosphere!

Fun

Bicycling is fun, but if you’re perusing this website, we think maybe you know that already!

  • Bike Commuting
  • California Bicycle Laws
  • Crash Help
  • Map & Routes
  • Why Ride?

Latest News

  • 2019 California Bicycle SummitCalBike 2020 AgendaDecember 6, 2019 - 4:07 pm
  • Hollywood signCalBike Endorsements for Los Angeles City Council District 4November 25, 2019 - 1:29 pm
  • 2019 California Bicycle SummitReflections on the 2019 California Bicycle SummitNovember 15, 2019 - 4:12 pm

Take Action

Pre-order a bike-themed license plate for your car

This specialty plate will raise funds for bicycle education. We need 7,500 pre-orders before the DMV will produce it.

Order today

Ask California to Provide Incentives for E-bikes

Ask for California clean vehicle dollars to support the ultimate clean vehicle: the electric bicycle.

Sign the Letter

Join The California Bicycle Coalition Today

Do you care about bicycling? We need your support to make California a better place to ride a bike and to get more people riding.

Join CalBike

Spread the Word!

Get Updates

Sign up today to receive updates from CalBike delivered to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

Our Approach
History & Impact
Who We Are
Sponsors & Funders
Careers
Financials & Governance
Contact Us
CalBike FAQ

The Latest

CalBike Report
Legislative Watch
#WhyIRideCA

Take Action

Get Local
Tell Your Friends
Become a Member
Donate
Attend an Event
Get a License Plate
Advocate Resources
Partner with Us
Start a Fundraiser

Join

Renew

Our Initiatives

Bikeways to Everywhere
Bicycling for Everyone
Protecting Your Rights

Let’s Ride

Why Ride?
Bicycle Laws
Maps & Routes
Commuting
Bike Safety
Crash Help

Newsroom

Media Kit
Press Releases

Events

Bicycle Summit
Bike Advocacy Day
Dream Ride
House Parties
Past Events
Submitted Events

Donate

Give Monthly
Donate Now
Join the Leadership
Circle
Planned Giving
Sponsor
Gift Membership
Appreciated Stock
Donate Your Car

CalBike Logo

California Bicycle Coalition | 1017 L Street, #288, Sacramento, CA 95814 | 916-778-0746 | Contact

Made by Zac Maybury

CalBike Logo

California Bicycle Coalition | 1017 L Street, #288, Sacramento, CA 95814 | 916-778-0746 | Contact

Made by Zac Maybury

California Bicycle Coalition
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Mail
Scroll to top