Aaahh... can you feel that ? Spring is in the air. And about time too, cause winter was behaving like a forgetful grandpa , constantly returning to pick up things they forgot. Overstaying their welcome. Its my favourite time of the year.. just warm enough to be outdoors, but cool enough to still have a light jacket on. Goes nicely with coffee.
And bikes ! Spring is undoubtedly the best time of year to get riding again. The humble bicycle should be mankind's finest inventions. It solves problems, is fun to use, and needs close to zero maintenance, and no charging (looking at you e-bike users). Bikes are virtually free, and require no insurance, registration, license, parking spaces, or any other hassle. They are so easy to own, and so incredibly useful and beneficial, with absolutely no drawbacks whatsoever to ownership. And yet somehow, there are adults out there – millions of them, ..... – who don’t even have a bike.I have been riding one since.. I turned.. 5 , I think ? Can't remember. And it surprises me that most people still don't have a bike.
Bikes are virtually free, and require no insurance, registration, license, parking spaces, or any other hassle. They are so easy to own, and so incredibly useful and beneficial, with absolutely no drawbacks whatsoever to ownership. And yet somehow, there are adults out there – millions of them, ......... who don’t even have a bike.
The fact is that the bicycle is still the world's most efficient way to travel, 52 years after it was first proven. Back in 1973, Scientific American magazine published an article written by S S Wilson, then a lecturer in engineering at Oxford University, in which he argued that the bicycle’s purpose was to “make it easier for an individual to move about, and this the bicycle achieves in a way that quite outdoes natural evolution.”
And along with that article was a graph, which charted the weight vs efficiency of most things that move on this green planet. The classic graph, reproduced countless times by engineers and cycling enthusiasts, has inspired figures as diverse as Steve Jobs, who famously compared the personal computer to “the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.” In the latest edition, the magazine have now updated that for modern times. This graph :
There are few things more nerdy that hearing an engineer waxing on the benefits of riding a bicycle: and Wilson does an excellent job staying true to form. He explained that while an unaided walking human consumes a fair amount of energy per distance traveled, a cyclist using a bicycle reduces energy consumption to roughly a fifth. In Wilson’s words: the cyclist “improves his efficiency rating to No. 1 among moving creatures and machines.”
Wilson also outlined practical ways to encourage cycling in cities: cycleways to reduce conflicts with automobiles, bicycle parking stations, transport of bikes by rail and bus, and public bicycles for “park and pedal” services. “Already bicycling is often the best way to get around quickly in city centers,” he noted.
His prescription for global challenges of transportation, health, and resource efficiency? “Cycle and recycle.” Wilson even applied his ideas practically, helping develop the Oxtrike cargo tricycle for developing countries.
The bicycle, as both Wilson and modern science attest, remains a triumph of efficiency and human ingenuity—one pedal stroke at a time.
But the biggest benefit of cycling ? Its just fun.
Ill see you down the road.
