Looking for a simple way to do your health, your pocketbook, and your planet some good in 30 minutes or less?

Try the 2 Mile Bike Challenge.


Did you know that 40 percent of everyday travelling in the U.S. involves trips of 2 miles or less? That’s what the Federal Highway Safety Administration says. All those trips to the grocery store, the bank, the coffee shop or restaurant, the mall, and yes, even the local fast food drive-thru really add up.

We’re not talking about small numbers here, either. Let’s say that your own car use is about average–that means you drive about 12,000 miles per year. 40% of that is 4800 miles. If your car averages 18 miles per gallon for city driving, that’s about 267 gallons of gas–that’ll cost you well over $1,000 at current prices.

If you and your waistline don’t agree about it’s current or future expansion plans, that 4800 miles you travel in your car may have an even bigger personal cost in terms of lost opportunities. Walking those 4800 miles would burn a good 480,000 calories, or 137 pounds worth of fat. But that would take an awful lot of time. Biking those miles would still use up enough calories to burn off about 45-55 pounds of fat in a year, and even at an easy pace of 10 mph, it would take you only 9 hours per week.

Of course, it’s probably not practical to do all your short trips on a bicycle. But this doesn’t need to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Every mile you can do on your bike (or on foot) will help–and you won’t just be helping yourself. The FHSA says that, in the United States alone, there were 250,851,833 registered passenger vehicles in 2006 (they’re still counting last year’s). It doesn’t take a lot of imagination or a PhD in math to see that if we all do even a small percentage of our mileage on bikes or foot, it can make a huge impact on problems like air pollution and global warming.

Here's a link to the 2 Mile Challenge Website. It has a handy map gizmo that lets you put in your address and get a map that shows everything within a two-mile radius of your home; it also can help you find safe riding routes, get info on bicycles and accessories, and hook up with fellow bikers. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to incorporate riding into your daily travel plans.

So, what are you waiting for? Go forth, and ride your way to good health, financial independence, and a healthier environment!