Why I love bicycle commuting | how to save the planet

[Music] hey guys this is Heather so I'm just heading out to run some errands and as some of you may know from previous videos I cycle commute so I ride a bicycle I do not drive a car I don't drive a motorcycle I ride a bicycle I love it so I've been doing this since let's see 2002 so that's 15 years now wow that's a long time um I started in 2002 because I was in university my car was dying it was a car that my parents gave me to use while I was at University and it was already however many years old and um so it was dying a slow painful death it was costing a lot in maintenance and it got to a point where I was going to have to put more into the car than it was worth so at that point I realized you know I'm going to have to cut this car off unfortunately um and I couldn't afford to buy a car I couldn't afford to relase a car I couldn't afford maintenance I couldn't afford insurance on a car I just knew there was absolutely no way that I could afford a car so I started thinking about bicycling because it costs a lot less there's no insurance there's very little maintenance and all the maintenance you can do yourself so all you have to do is buy the parts and I could get a little bit of exercise while I was doing it so it seemed like a win-win I bought a bike which at the time was the most expensive thing I had ever bought it was $350 I think and there goes a motorcycle right by me um and um yeah so I I this was a major decision for me but obviously a lot less major than buying a car and so I bought this bike and I thought okay before my car has to be taken to the scrapyard I'll buy this bike so I can kind of ease myself into it great thought in theory but you know what I never I never Bic theold to school or to where I was working or where I was taking lessons uh I never bicycled until my car was actually gone because when I had the choice to cycle versus Drive I always chose to drive I was always scrambling I was always running behind I was always running late um so I always drove when I had the choice suddenly when I didn't have the choice anymore then I started cycling then I started to love it and I have not gone back I've not owned a car since then um I have driven cars here and there when I'm visiting people when I'm visiting my parents I might use their car to get around but for myself I've always managed to get myself to live in a place where I can cycle commute and that's been a conscious choice so I've always chosen to live downtown so that I can walk or cycle everywhere or take public transit um and so I just wanted to share share a few of the things that I love about bicycle commuting so that if any of you are thinking of making that shift as we move into better weather it gets easier to think about cycle commuting so some of the things I love now um I love that I'm using my muscles and I'm burning calories instead of burning gasoline that to me is a huge motivating factor for sticking with psych commuting that wasn't as much of a factor to me when I started it is now the envir enironmental impact of cycling versus driving huge so I can be burning my own energy instead of fossil fuel energy there was a time when I was cycle commuting and I would actually go up the bicycle trail and over and overpass on the highway and I would get to just soar over the gridlock on the highway and it made me feel so much better being able to cycle my way to work and back rather than being stuck in traffic all the time so there are often shortcuts that you can take as a cyclist and they can help you actually make about the same amount of travel time when you when you don't have to factor in traffic if I get a flat tire on my bike I can change it myself right at the side of the road I carry spare tubes I carry all the tools that I need in my bag so I don't have to call CIA or AAA or the people who come out and help you fix the flat tire I don't have to pay a mechanic to do it I can do it myself s so that's not only really gratifying in feeling self-sufficient but it also saves me money in cost of labor for mechanics minor maintenance issues I can take care of myself and I've been slowly learning more and more about bike maintenance as I go on uh there are lots of things that I don't know so there are still things that I might have to take it to a bicycle shop for but again it usually costs a lot less because it takes less time to do it so there's less labor involved in fixing a bicycle also Parts usually cost less for a bicycle not always true some things cost more in some ways bicycles are more expensive depending on what kind of bicycle you get so they're super expensive ones obviously have really specialized components and parts but that's not the kind of bike that I have another aspect that really appeals to me is being that girl that gets to work on her bicycle and people say wow you biked here yeah no problem there there is a sense of being that person who is dedicated enough to cycle to work or wherever it is that you're going uh when I was in university my instructors would be so impressed with my dedication to getting on time to getting there on time uh even when I was bicycling so there's that aspect there's also the community aspect of cycle commuters we get to know each other uh there was one place where I was living where I was always going on the same path at the same time of day so I got to know all the other commuters you know everybody was on the trail at the same time every day we' get to know each other just by those little nods you give along the trail and there was a difference in the summer and the winter cycle commuters so those of us hardcore enough to keep cycle commuting in the winter we would really get to know each other because we know yeah you're that person who sticks with it year round so there are lots of benefits to cycle commuting and if you are thinking of doing this there are a few things to keep in mind one is obviously safety you can maybe hear the road traffic right beside me um that does play a huge factor in cycle commuting so you want to be safe don't always hug the very side of the road you know go a little bit into the lane so that people don't just nip by you and and try to cut you off um take the space that you need to feel safe also lighting super important I've got these really amazing lights on my bike both rear and front I've got a front light that is so bright that it might be confused for a motorbike light and my rear light actually has indicators and it has a little laser beam that goes out to tell cars not to get too close to you at night so those can be really really helpful also signal everywhere you can uh just with your arm putting your arms out um and give the cars behind you time so if you're turning um into oncoming traffic you want to give them time to know that you're going to do that and if cars are behind you they might be waiting to pass so make sure you give them enough time when you signal so that they don't try to pass you as you're slowing down to make your turn helmets of course are key I know they're not mandatory everywhere but why not wear a helmet they've even got inflatable helmets now you can put like a little collar on and then if the if it senses that you're spinning in in a direction that you wouldn't expect it inflates automatically and covers your whole head and then a few tips that have made cycle commuting more functional for me are bags so I used to always use a backpack when I was cycle commuting and this is a great cycle backpack it's got a place for me to hook a light on it's got reflective surfaces it's got pockets in the side that I can reach into while I'm cycling or if I get off and I don't want to take my whole pack off um so this was great but I started to get neck and shoulder pain so I've moved to a pet now which is this bag that hooks on to the back of my bike fantastic love it I can fit a lot of stuff in there and it doesn't weigh down my shoulders you can also go with a shoulder bag like this a little more stylish but still functional this one um has a loop as well for your bike light and the key with a shoulder bag is that you need to have some kind of um strap that keeps it in front of you so that when you stop suddenly it doesn't swing around and hit your bike or hit your handlebars or throw you off balance or anything like that so I can show you what I keep in my paner so this is always in my bag when I go anywhere I've got a lock I've got a shopping bag for impromptu shopping trips I've got a travel um pump so if I get a flat I can pump my tire up at least enough to get me home I've got gloves for rainy days these are actually paddling gloves they're not cycling gloves they were great I've got my maintenance bag in here I've got a spare tube I've got a charging cable for my lights I've got a patch kit I've got Tire levers and I've got a tool multi-tool which you can use to to do all sorts of functions on your bike also got some bungee cords so sometimes I find when I go grocery shopping I get stuff like lettuce it's too big to fit in here with everything else so I put my lettuce right here and then I just bungee it down so that it doesn't fall off I've got a waterproof cover for my paer that came with it I've also got this fell out this is an arm band light so I just put that around my arm so that when I signal at night people can see me and this is probably the coolest bit I've got a little mirror that snaps onto my helmet so that I can see behind me so I just do that and then I can see the cars behind me these clipon shoes have made such a huge difference in the amount of energy that I have to exert to cycle to work especially when I'm going up hills now these you have to be careful of because you do have to clip out of them and I have fallen a few times when I haven't clipped out quick enough um as you wear them more you get used to them more and they wear down a little bit so they're EAS easier to uncp you can set them on a very low tension at first to get used to them so that they unclip pretty easily um so consider these they're not necessary but they do really improve your efficiency clothing choices can be important I have full rain gear that I wear for cycling if it's wet out I used to even have uh shoe covers to keep my feet dry when I was going to work now I wear the clip shoes so it doesn't matter quite as much and I bring a change of socks um but uh those those were really help at the time and uh in in normal circumstances I always wear sunglasses even if it's not really sunny out because they stop um bugs or dust or stuff that's coming off trucks from going in my eyes too much as I am now riding an hour and a half total back and forth to work I've got an electric motor on my bike to help me up the hills and to help me uh into wind so this this is the motor right here this is the battery it's pedal assist so it doesn't make me go it just assists when I'm pedaling really hard it helps make it easier so that I get to work and I'm not a sweaty mess now the downsides I often hear about cycle commuting uh don't I need a shower when I get to work well yeah I have in the past uh just used the regular washroom to clean myself off just my face uh and it's usually my armpits um which isn't the greatest but it works and in the big scheme I'm happy to do that if it means that I'm not using gasoline and I'm getting some exercise and I'm saving some money significant amount of money uh now I'm lucky enough to have a shower at work so if you have a gym in town near your office or any access to a shower near your office then maybe look into that otherwise you can you can try make shift Solutions um takes too much time so I think of it as time to think time to exercise uh time to enjoy the outdoors so when I think about the time that I take on my bike it's multi-purpose so it's not just my commute to work it's multi-purpose also it only takes me about 10 minutes longer to get to work than it would if I was driving so in in the big scheme check what the actual difference is in time uh what are some other ones I'll be too tired when I get to work so that's where an electric motor assist can really really help um you can even charge that up at work so that you reduce the amount of electricity that you're increasing at home um and what else uh well some people just can't cycle and that's fine um if you have a disability if you uh need to go to to various site visits or office visits or anything like that if you need to get around while you're at work and a bicycle doesn't work then yeah no that doesn't make sense but for those of you who do have the option highly recommend you give it a try if you need to only do it in the summer if the winter you're not able to cycle that's fine too um but if anybody has any questions about cycle commuting please leave them down below let me know what your thoughts are if you're a cycle commuter and you love it please share what you love about it and if you have any uh any suggestions or tips leave me a thumbs up if you like the concept if you like the video and be sure to subscribe to my channel for new videos every week with vegan recipes nutrition tips inspiration and random stuff like bicycle commuting all right if you're subscribed we'll talk soon bye [Music] guys

Channel: Heather Nicholds

Views: 57,456

Keywords: healthy, vegan, healthy vegan, healthy eating, plant based, healthy diet, vegan diet, plant based diet, vegan nutrition, veganism, vegan nutritionist, holistic nutritionist, plant based nutrition, plant based nutritionist, cycle commuting, bicycle commuting, eco tips, environmental tips, fitness, vlog, bicycle, cycle, electric bicycle, commuting, bikes, bike, cyclist, commuter

Id: 7SeDMFTK9ew

Length: 15min 0sec (900 seconds)

Published: Fri May 26 2017