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How cycling helps the society #CyKol

678   //    17 Mar 2012, 00:24 IST

Cycling is usually seen as a fun activity. It is fun, but there are a lot of indirect benefits associated with cycling. Cycling is not just a hobby to pursue in your leisure time. It helps the society in untold ways. It’s in the society’s best interest to have our citizens use cycles. Here’s why:

Construction of parking lots: Park a car and a cycle side-by side. You’ll see that it takes at least 5 cycles to take up the same space as a car does. The government can save a boatload of money if it were to construct a parking lot to house cycles, as opposed to cars. Cycle stands can be placed on sidewalks as well.

Roads: A car takes up a lot of space on a road compared to a cycle. Traffic jams could be drastically reduced if more people were to take up cycling for commuting. That in turn would reduce the need for expanding the road network. The need for frequent repairs of the roads is mostly because of the heavy traffic on them. Heavy in weight. Cycles are light and will hardly make a scratch on the roads.

To accommodate the additional four-wheeler traffic, the government has to build flyovers. To accommodate cycles, they have to paint part of the road as a cycle lane. You do the math on that.

Healthcare: As more people take up cycling, there will be more people in good health. And the government will have to spend less on healthcare in government hospitals. Cycling makes the heart pound in a steady manner and helps improve cardio-vascular fitness. Steady cycling burns approximately 300 calories per hour. It won’t be long before you whittle yourself in good shape once you take up cycling.

Support to kirana stores: Cyclists promote the local economy. They are a boon to the kirana stores and the self employed people who man them. Cyclists need to make stops to refuel by purchasing snacks and water. Most cyclists travel light, and by light I mean without a bag and thus they don’t carry refreshments with them. This kind of fuel is a lot better than petrol/diesel.

Community integration: A community that bikes together, stays together. As people in and around a neighborhood get to cycle together they will learn more about each other. As such it will create more secure and well integrated neighborhoods where people are more cooperative towards each other and are better placed to connect with and help one another out.

Cleaner environment: Cycles are way more ecofriendly than other vehicles. They are easy on the air as they don’t emit harmful gases around. They don’t cause swarming traffic jams and don’t contribute towards the bellowing of horns which accompanies such noises. The only fuel they use is bodily fuel.

Cars are expensive: to buy, fuel and maintain. With a fraction of that amount one can have a great cycle to suit their purpose, ride far or near, slow or fast, anything. Recently, the import duties on bicycles have increased thus encouraging one to purchase cycles built close to home. So there won’t be a burden on foreign exchange if we have a mass exodus from cars to cycles anyway.

To encourage such a move, the India Cyclothon has come to Kolkata. The Avon India Cyclothon Kolkata- 2012 will be held on 18 March. To register, come over to Khudiram Bose wing of the Netaji Indoor Stadium between 10 AM and 7 PM on 17 March.

Details about the Cyclothon:

  • Email (General):
  • Email (For Corporates):
  • Facebook –
  • Twitter –
  • SMS Short Code – CYCLO – 51818

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