The top employers in Midland
(Dow, Dow Corning, MidMichigan Health, and Midland Public Schools) had a friendly competition to see
which can get the highest percentage of employees to commute to work by
bicycle during bike to work week. The Midland Public School employees logged the most commutes with almost 1% of all commutes during bike to work week completed by bicycle! Each year: Approximately 4,000 miles were ridden, and about 5,000 pounds of CO2 were not emmitted! Additionally, about 200 gallons of gasoline was not burned for a cost savings of over $500. That also represents about 250 hours of great exercise that we got to do while going to and from work. Here are five compelling reasons to promote bicycle commuting: Information courtesy of Trek Bicycle
Corporation. - The average person loses 13 pounds their first year of commuting by
bike.
- 40% of all car trips in the U.S. are made within 2 miles of home.
- 60% of the pollution created by autos happens in the first few minutes
of operation, before pollution control devices can work effectively.
- Just 3 hours of biking per week can reduce your risk of heart disease
and stroke by 50%.
- The U.S. could save 462 million gallons of gas a year by boosting
bicycle trips just half a percentage point: from 1% to 1.5% of all
trips.
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