I love my bike, I can’t really stress this enough. Every morning, I ride to Starbucks on my green Raleigh Venture, a comfort bike with collapsible side baskets, over the rear tire, that hold one bag of groceries each. Not only is my ride pleasurable, I’m saving in so many ways.

To begin with, I’m saving the environment. With the wind in my face, I coast the short one-mile distance and feel terrific that I’m not wasting gas or polluting the air for that one-mile coffee run. I try, as much as possible, to ride my bike for any short trip or errand; usually under 2-miles is a no-brainer bike ride. I am also conserving fuel, my husband and I only purchase gas about twice a month. Of course, it helps that one of us works full-time from home and the other (me) loves riding my bike!

Me biking through the park. I love my bike!

Another reason to love biking, it reduces the wear and tear on our one, shared vehicle. I love my Honda Element and want it to last a long time. It’s the vehicle that inspired our love of camping! So, the less we drive, the less maintenance is needed on our car. We also save money on required maintenance by keeping our annual mileage under 14,000 miles.

One of the most recent money saving reasons to love my bike: I didn’t have to purchase a parking permit at the state college I’m attending. Although, it helps that I live in Southern California where we seldom have inclement weather, I can ride up to the building where my class is held and not fight over a parking space, or walk a mile to class. That $300 is money that stays in the bank.

Since I get a lot of cardiovascular exercise by riding my bike, I can forgo a gym membership. I’ve never really liked gyms to begin with, so this was more of an added bonus: firm legs and rear that I can be proud of. Last year I rode so much, I even noticed that my arms were firming up, that wobbly chicken wing-thing was beginning to disappear into a well-toned muscle. Not only am I saving money on exercising, I’m saving money in the long run by staying active and  healthy.

But what really takes the cake is that biking keeps me sane. Meaning, it reduces any stress I might have that day. Whether I have a million things to do and am stressing  because I only accomplished 3, or if I had a rough day teaching small children to read, I can jump on my bike and my thoughts are soon someplace else. Being outside, enjoying nature, biking along at a moderate and comfortable pace keeps my insanity at bay. And that is priceless!