Bicycles are the most efficient mode of transportation ever invented. Riding a bike cuts your transportation fossil fuel emissions completely. Because riding a bike is so efficient and your body requires fewer calories per mile traveled, cycling has a carbon footprint that’s actually even less than walking and less than one-tenth the emissions of driving. Even if not all car trips can be substituted with bicycle trips, the potential for decreasing carbon emissions is huge. Those who switch just one trip per day from car driving to cycling reduce their carbon footprint by about a half a ton/year.

Perhaps the two greatest environmental benefits of bicycling are that it produces no pollution and consumes no fossil fuel. Additionally, as bikes cut down on the number of fuel-powered vehicles on the road, they also cut down on congestion, noise pollution, and the need for new highways.

Bikes are also a great form of exercise, particularly for seniors, as the exercise provided is non-weight bearing. Riding your bicycle helps improve balance, flexibility, and muscle strength. The cardio workout you can get from biking keeps your circulatory system in top shape. Biking lowers stress, increases resistance to heart disease, reduces obesity, and even helps you sleep better.

Cycling also provides many other benefits: No fuel costs, no road taxes, no insurance, low maintenance, and affordable repairs; Easy and free parking close to your destination’s front door; Waving at traffic jams as you cruise down the bike lane; And the pure fun of riding your bike with friends and family.

Nearly every community has a local bike shop. Go out, take a few test rides, and get a bike today. If your physical condition makes biking difficult, consider a three-wheeled bike or an electric bike [see next right].

Just under 60% of transportation-related CO2 is generated by passenger cars, SUVs and minivans. Electric bicycles have a unique capacity to help reduce these emissions. A 2019 study found that if electric bicycle usage increased by 15% across the U.S., we could reduce an estimated 11% of transportation-related CO2 emissions.

Public interest in electric bicycles is at an all-time high — both electric and traditional bicycle use skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic as people sought ways to safely get outside for exercise and social time. Electric bicycle sales have seen dramatic increases in recent years, as more people see the benefits of this relatively new form of transportation. Electric bike design has also made enormous strides in the last few years. They are lighter, travel further on a charge, and they come in all manner of sizes and shapes, and costs: from a few hundred to many thousands of dollars. Expect to pay around $600 to $1200 for a good quality E-bike. Below are links to recommendations for the best budget E-bikes.

Once you take a ride on an electric bike, you’ll immediately see why they are becoming so popular. They are great fun! For seniors, they can once again make bike riding the joy that it was when we were younger. What a great way to fight climate change!

Currently, Congress is debating passage of the E-Bike Act, which would provide a 30% tax credit for the purchase of a new E-bike, up to $1,500.00, and which would be fully refundable even if you don’t have enough income for it to reduce your federal income tax. You can follow the progress of this legislation here:
U.S. E-BIKE ACT

Here is some basic advice on choosing an E-bike for seniors:

* Low step-through frame. Choose an electric bike with a swooping frame and low step-through height for safety [as in the picture above].

* 350-watt motors allow you to go up to 15 miles an hour on full throttle (with pedal assist, up to 20 mph) This provides plenty of power for most seniors which will give you good pedal assist and also allow you to ride longer without the bike being too powerful for you to handle.

* Pedal assist AND throttle. Pedal assist provides an effortless boost to your pedaling. A handlebar throttle allows the bike to do all the work for you if your legs get too tired. Choosing a bike that allows both gives you much greater flexibility in how you ride.

Check with your local bike shop, or use a search engine, or online shopping site to find the latest in electric bikes. Below are some sites that have unbiased reviews and general information about electric bikes [click on the blue type below to access the site]:
HOW TO CHOOSE AN ELECTRIC BIKE
[from REI Coop]

BEST AFFORDABLE E-BIKES
[from Bicycling.com]

BEST BUDGET ELECTRIC BIKES

[from GearLab]

How can we Seniors get even more people out of their cars and onto electric or standard bicycles more often?

We can lobby our state and national politicians to create electric bicycle purchase subsidies or tax credits. Locally, we can point out that increases in bike riding reduces the need for new parking lots and roadways and explain that low carbon transportation is more important than more car parking. To encourage more bike riding, we can suggest the construction of better and more bike parking sites and racks, and request charging stations designed for electric bicycles.

Most people won’t bike if they don’t feel safe. So, until people feel safe using a bicycle for their daily chores, we’re not going to make much progress on the transportation aspect of climate change. At the local level, we can all request changes to street designs that calm traffic and we can demand protected bike lanes to increase bike safety. Protected infrastructure and updated road design yield dramatic increases in safety in the form of fewer serious injuries and fatalities for people who bike. And we can suggest a boost in municipal electric bicycle share programs, which have been very popular wherever they have been introduced.

All of these efforts will encourage more people to take more trips by bike and fewer by car, as well as help legitimize bikes as a practical form of transportation.

Biking is one of the best personal ways to dramatically lower your use of fossil fuels. We can all encourage our family, friends, and community to support and enjoy the myriad benefits of biking while fighting climate change.

If you wish to become more involved with promoting the use of bicycles, USA Cycling [the official governing body of cycling in the US] maintains a extensive list of bike organizations that are leading the efforts in promoting bike use in America [click on the blue type below]:
USA CYCLING BIKE ADVOCACY GROUPS 

The League of American Bicyclists also is very involved in advocacy supporting biking. Find out more by clicking on the blue type below:
LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS ADVOCACY