How I Saved 14 Minutes by Taking my Bike Instead of the Car

I rode my bike to work today. It took a little longer than driving, but it saved me time, anyway.

It takes me exactly seven minutes to get from home to work by car. (That's assuming I don't catch more than my share of red lights.) Riding the bike takes me about 18 minutes. So you'd think commuting by bike would take an extra 22 minutes, right?

But in reality, it saved me 14 minutes - allowing me just enough time to log in this blog post without screwing up my schedule for the day.

You see, I've got this thing about exercise. If I don't get enough you don't want to be around me. So I try to get in to the Y several times a week to work out. And guess what? A typical workout takes about 30 minutes, plus time to get in and out of the building. About the same amount of time as my bike ride.

So by skipping the Y and gonzoing up and down Grand Avenue both ways on my bike I get in the same amount of workout time - without having to park my rear end in the car for 14 minutes.

Cool, huh?

(By the way, if you don't work out regularly you can still save time commuting by bike. But in your case, don't measure it in minutes but in years - bonus years tacked on to the end of your life for giving your body what it needs!)