Cycle to Work Day 2019

08.08.2019 2 min read

2019 has seen ever-concerning climate change issues more prominent than ever and with this heighted awareness Cycle to Work Day 2019 is an opportunity to see how small changes such as cycling can have a big impact in the environment as well as the added health benefits.

Temple is supporting cycle work today with over 25% cycling to our central London office on a regular basis, we have sought to boost this number on cycle to work day by offering staff the opportunity to buy a bike on the government incentivised cycle scheme as well as offering free and secure bike racks for anyone who travels in with their bikes.

Environmental impact
There is more evidence than ever the hugely damaging effects of air pollution on people’s health, especially in big cities like London, Manchester and Birmingham. Cycling to work has the benefit of reducing toxic emissions, which is good for everyone. By taking the bike to work over other forms of transport which use up huge amounts of non-renewable resources and releases large volumes of pollutants and greenhouses gases. Last year people choosing to cycle to work helped cut 133,442 tonnes of Co2 emissions (cyclescheme.co.uk).

The London Environmental Strategy (LES) ‘Healthy streets approach’ reviewed by Temple earlier on this week has additional information on the environmental impact of choosing alternative methods of transport for your commute and day to day travel.
Health benefits

The Health benefits of cycling as a form of exercise can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Cycling is also good for weight loss (which offers the roundabout benefit that when you weigh less, cycling becomes easier).

Not only can cycling help your physical health it can also improve your mental health. Cycling helps us control the hormones responsible for stress, which can help us stay in better control of our emotions. With workplace stress and anxiety on the rise, boosting our ability to take control of them is critical for our long-term mental wellbeing.

Cycle Safety
There are always ongoing concerns about the safety of cycling especially in bigger cities like London and Manchester. In 2018 the Mayor of London, Sadiq Kahn made steps to address these concerns and approved new safer cycle routes across London, Manchester also has numerous cycleways which have been designed to give cyclists more space and separate cyclist from traffic.

How to get involved
Cycling to work is often overlooked because they don’t realise how easy it is to get affordable access to the latest equipment. Programmes like Cyclescheme are government protected and make it easy for employees to get a bike tax-free while spreading the cost.

Temple