National Bike Month 2021

May is National Bike Month! It’s meant to highlight the benefits of biking and encourage more people to try it out. Biking is a great alternative to driving, one of the healthiest forms of exercise, and is sustainable. Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of biking.

Alternative to Driving

The Electric Wheels CO family loves to use biking as an alternative to driving. One of our owners, Lori Logan, used to ride her e-bike about 22 miles each way, 45 miles round trip to her office, and it would take approximately the same amount of time as driving. Her office was in downtown Denver, so she was eliminating time sitting in traffic by getting exercise instead. 

“The staff at Electric Wheels in Highlands Ranch was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable and even delivered my bike to my home. I highly recommend taking one for a spin, not just to get outdoors and enjoy the Colorado sunshine, but as a true alternative to driving alone in your single-occupancy vehicle.” - Sheryl Machado

Even if you would prefer to drive long distances, there are plenty of short trips taken during the week that you could opt for biking. According to Bike League, “40% of all trips in the U.S. are less than two miles, making bicycling a feasible and fun way to get around.” Think about all the short trips you take during a week. Maybe you drive to:

• Get a coffee
• Go to the grocery store
• Meet a friend
• Go to the library
• Pick up an order
• Pick up kids from school
• Appointments

And those are just a few examples! Can you switch to biking for any of these? With ample trails around Highlands Ranch, you can get almost anywhere in under a few miles. Make a goal in May to use biking as an alternative to driving.

Exercise

With the assisted pedaling feature, you can ride longer, which means you are burning more calories. When you push the pedals on an e-bike, a motor activates and gives you a boost. This feature allows you to speed up hills, navigate various terrains, and ride further. You ride an e-bike just like a regular bike by using gears and braking. However, you have the option to use the levels of pedal-assist or throttle to give you an extra boost. 

Since you are exercising while riding an e-bike, you can lose weight. The average number of calories burned is about 500 per hour. Of course, it all depends on your current health, terrain, and speed.

Sustainability

E-bikes are environmentally friendly and can be a great alternative to driving. E-bikes are good for the environment because they use a combination of electricity and human power to run. You can make charging your e-bike battery a 100% eco-friendly transportation option by using solar power. Unlike other modes of transportation, e-bikes don’t produce any carbon emissions or exhaust while in use, therefore not contributing to air pollution. 

Safety Tips

Of course, we want to keep you safe while you’re out biking. We’ve collected a few safety tips for bikers.

Stay Seen

Wear bright colors in the daylight and have a bike light at night. Under the law, it’s required to have a headlight and preferably a taillight too. That makes you most visible to cars coming from both directions on the road.

Wear a Helmet

It’s important to not only wear a helmet but make sure it’s the right fit for you. Use a mirror or have someone help you adjust the straps, so the helmet fits snugly.

Shop our Helmets >>

Ride Predictably

To avoid a crash, ride predictably. Use hand signals and ride as straight as possible, so drivers know your direction. Same as drivers, look over your shoulder before changing lanes and ride in the same direction as traffic.

Legislation

There have been some important laws to encourage the treatment and expectations of e-bikes to be similar to regular bikes. US Congressman, Jimmy Panetta, pitched the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (E-BIKE) Act to Congress in February 2020. “The E-BIKE Act tax incentive covers 30% of the e-bike cost, up to the value of $1,500, and would either offset the purchaser's taxes owed or be added to their tax refund for the year in which it was purchased.” By introducing this tax break, people will have an option to reduce their carbon footprint and fight the climate crisis without breaking the bank. 

Durango, Colorado is starting a pilot program to provide 16 low-income workers with e-bikes. The workers will be required to track their travels on an app. Green Car Congress launched a study in late 2020. It was designed to encourage energy-efficient transportation during the pandemic. They also wanted to demonstrate that e-bikes are a safe, healthy, and convenient way to make necessary trips. That includes commuting to work. We hope more programs like this will take place to further integrate e-bikes into society.

Happy National Bike Month! We hope you found this information interesting and motivating to start biking more. If you have any questions about e-bikes, contact us or book an appointment to visit us in our shop, where you will receive 1-on-1 support from our team.