Individuals, communities, the economy and society as a whole have much to gain from increased participation in cycling.

Good for you

• regular cyclists enjoy a fitness level equal to that of a person 10 years younger. (Source: National Forum for Coronary Heart Disease Foundation, Sharp)
• cycling at least 20 miles a week reduces the risk of heart disease to less than half that for non-cyclists who take no other exercise (Source: British Heart Foundation, Morris)
• If one third of all short car journeys were made by bike, national heart disease rates would fall by between 5 and 10%  (Bikes not Fumes, CTC, 1992)
• during rush-hour, a bicycle is about twice as fast as a car - good if you hate traffic jams

Good for your wallet

• bicycles require no insurance, no licensing, no breakdown recovery services, and above all no fuel bills
• a good bicycle needs at most about £50 worth of maintenance a year - less if you do a bit yourself. How much does your car need?
• a good bicycle will last for years, if not decades. How long did your previous car last?
• a bicycle can be parked just about anywhere, so no more expensive car park bills

Good for our world

• 20 bicycles can be parked in the same space taken up by 1 car
• to make a bicycle requires only a fraction of the materials and energy needed to make a car
• bicycles produce absolutely no pollution - they are a lot quieter too
• cars crashes kill and maim thousands of people every year around the world

• switching from 4 wheels to 2 for the school run or the commute would dramatically reduce carbon emissions. If all the commuters in England with a journey of under 5 miles went by bike rather than car or bus, they'd save a collective 44,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent emissions produced by heating nearly 17,000 houses. And that would just be in the first week.