This week I discovered the best motivator to get someone to ride their bike. Take their car away! I was in a fender bender the other day, fortunately everyone was ok, but my truck got enough front end damage that it overheats if I drive it very far. So, I have turned to my bike to get everywhere. I could have and should have been riding my used road bike more places to begin with but it’s easy to come up with excuses when you’ve got a car in the garage. These excuses for me were usually something with the weather, it’s too hot, too cold, too wet, etc. After riding now for a few days I’ve realized that they really are just that…excuses! I feel better from the exercise and in Atlanta, you can keep up with traffic really well so the time it takes isn’t much longer than driving. I also started looking for other ways to use public transport and realized I have been under utilizing it big time. I’m still getting my truck fixed, but I’m planning on continuing to ride as much as I can when I’m just trying to get around town. Obviously, not having other forms of transportation is the strongest motivator to utilize the road bike but I’ve also been thinking what else might help motivate people. Some of them were discussed in previous posts but I’ll mention them again here.
Motivators:
- Cost – This was always my biggest motivator, bikes are extremely cheap when compared to a vehicle.
- Exercise/Health – This is more of a side benefit for me that I’m sure I’ll notice as I get older.
- No Car – When you have no car and you need to get somewhere you have got to find another way.
- Fostering Friendships – Getting rides from friends and meeting new people when you ride are both benefits that you likely don’t think about.
- Environment – The most natural and non-polluting form of transportation I know of other than walking is the bicycle.
- No Tickets (parking/speeding/DUI/etc) – I’ve heard stories of people getting tickets on bikes, but it’s definitely much more rare and very inexpensive if you do get one on a bike.
- Cross Training – This goes alone with the health aspect, but cycling is a very good cross training sport and building your abilities on a bike, will carry over to other sports/activities.
- Adreneline Rush – Depending on how and where you ride, it can be a very exhilarating experience to ride.
I’m sure there are many other things that motivate people to ride and I’d be glad to hear about them in the comments. These are just a few that resonate with me that I hope will also help others realize the benefits of riding used road bikes.
