The bicycle has many features which make it the key means of transport of the future for travelling around town. As well as having zero emissions, if people used one regularly for daily commuting, it would be an excellent way of fighting against a sedentary lifestyle and the problems connected with low levels of activity.
According to the strategic Plan for the reduction in sedentary lifestyles formulated by BikeItalia and by Bikenomist, a bicycle can be used as a preventative tool against several pathologies linked to mental and physical illness.
Pursuing a physical activity without traumas
The advantages are undeniable: first of all, cycling allows people to pursue an aerobic type of physical activity which can be adjusted in line with the requirements, and above all the abilities, of each individual. For this reason a bicycle can be used by anybody, not least because, in contrast to running, it involves an athletic action without any musculoskeletal consequences.
The act of pedalling does not make the articulations suffer, given that the kinetic chain is well able to absorb the pedal thrusts. Furthermore, it is a simple activity; everyone can learn to ride a bicycle very quickly and without risking performing the wrong athletic actions, with their consequent mishaps. You can ride a bicycle when and where you want, without timing or organisational problems.
The benefits in terms of health
The Plan from BikeItalia and Bikenomist quotes two items of research in which are outlined the differences between people who travelled regularly by bicycle and those on the other hand who almost never took to their pedals: the possibility of developing cardiac pathologies or metabolic syndromes is double in the latter case, whereas the use of two wheels for at least one hour a week allows people to enjoy better health in adulthood and old age.
Other pieces of research have further proved the positive effect of taking to the pedals, not just on a physical level, but also from the perspective of mental health and mood: pedalling twenty or thirty minutes a day reduces stress and the incidence of panic attacks. The data also reassure those who consider that cycling is dangerous: the more people travel by bicycle, the more road accidents are reduced.
Investment in infrastructure
For institutions, investing in awareness-raising campaigns for the use of the bicycle, and, even ahead of that, placing citizens in the right surroundings to adopt this means of transport, through new, accessible and safe infrastructure, can become a crucial accident-prevention system.
This is also a reason why many different countries, with those in Northern Europe leading the pack, are increasingly incentivising the use of the bicycle, through tangible actions. And the creation of infrastructure in this scenario is crucial for launching a two-wheel revolution.
