Your Health

• Regular cyclists enjoy a fitness level equal to that of a person ten years younger. (Source: National Forum for Coronary Heart Disease Foundation, Sharp)
• Cycling at least twenty miles a week reduces the risk of heart disease to less than half that for non-cyclists who take no other exercise (Source: British Heart Foundation, Morris)
• If one third of all short car journeys were made by bike, national heart disease rates would fall by between 5 and 10 percent (Bikes not Fumes, CTC, 1992). Info from BikeBiz, with thanks.
• During rush-hour, a bicycle is about twice as fast as a car - good if you hate traffic jams!

Your Money

• Bicycles require no road tax, no MOT, no insurance, no licensing, no breakdown recovery services, and above all no fuel bills.
• A good bicycle needs a small amount of maintenance a year - less if you do a bit yourself. Compare this to the amount you spend on your car.
• A good bicycle will last for years, if not decades. How long did your previous car last?
• A bicycle can be parked just about anywhere (though you should lock it up), so no more expensive car park bills.

Green world

• Up to 20 bicycles can be parked in the same space taken up by one car.
• It requires only a fraction of the materials and energy to make a bicycle compared to making a car.
• Bicycles produce absolutely no pollution - they are a lot quieter too. When was the last time you saw a rusting, burnt-out bicycle?
• Cars kill and maim thousands of people every year - on their own, bicycles don′t.

In the UK

Cycle to Work is a tax incentive aimed at encouraging employees to, er, cycle to work, thereby reducing air pollution and improving their health.

The scheme allows employees to benefit from a long term loan of bikes and commuting equipment such as lights, locks and panniers completely tax free.

Employers benefit from fitter, more punctual, more wide-awake staff. Employees benefit from better health and better bikes because their money goes further. With a budget of, say �£400, an employee in the high tax-band can now afford a bike, plus accessories, worth nearly �£800.

The typical saving for an average tax-payer is between 38-45 per cent. There are online calculators to help you see how much you may be able to save. This one is from Cyclescheme. Type in your salary, the cost of your new bike and the cost of accessories such as a helmet, lock, panniers and so forth.

Employers can loan bicycles to their staff as a tax-free benefit on the condition that the bicycles are mainly used to get to and from work or for work-related purposes. The employee �buys� the bike at the end of the loan period for a nominal sum.