Cycling to work is a good idea under almost any circumstances (if your commute is 100 miles across crocodile-infested waters, we’ll let you off) and this Thursday there’s more reason than ever to jump on your two-wheeled steed and ride to work.
Thursday 11th May is the second annual Strava Global Bike To Work day, with users of the activity tracking app encouraged to join the challenge and log their trip to the office as a commute to add their ride to the worldwide tally.
Last year Strava’s first Global Bike To Work day saw just shy of 80,000 rides logged across 180 countries, with 514.51 tons of carbon emissions offset as a result.
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If you live in a Strava Metro partner city, logging your commute on the app is not just good for your own health – it could actually help redesign your city for the better. Strava has worked with cities including London and Glasgow to provide (anonymised) details of people’s commutes to urban planners to help improve infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians. In total, 160 million Strava users live in a Metro partner city.
In 2016 an average of 223,376 commutes were uploaded on Strava every week, with the average cycling distance 3.15km and an average time in the saddle of 35 minutes.
Once you’ve logged your ride on Strava this Thursday and tagged it as a commute, you can also support the day by sharing it on social media with the hashtag #CommutesCount.
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As well as helping city planners, Strava’s anonymised data can also be useful for the average runner or cyclist because it is used to create a global heatmap that shows the most popular routes. This means if you’re looking for a smart way to get to work while avoiding the busiest roads, or the best run to try when in a new city, you can see the routes locals use to get around. You can check out the global heatmap at strava.com as part of the Route Builder feature.
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