Want to improve your health? Bike to Work Day is a wonderful opportunity to see if bicycle commuting works for your schedule and lifestyle. Biking to work is an easy way to regularly fit in a workout, improving your physical and mental health. It can also help you save money, benefit the environment, and (with a well-planned route) allow you to escape the stressful traffic of a morning and evening commute.

On June 28, cyclists across Colorado Springs can join the city’s Bike to Work Day festivities. Just remember to register online ahead of time to enjoy a free breakfast at one of dozens of breakfast stations accross the city. El Paso County Public Health has its own Bike to Work Day breakfast station on the Sinton Trail behind the Citizens Service Center. The EPCPH station will be serving breakfast burritos from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Below are just some of the benefits of biking to work on a regular basis. And remember, even if you aren’t able to ride your bike to work regularly, you can still improve your health and well-being by bike riding in your free time or getting any kind of regular exercise.

• Reduce your risk for certain diseases and health conditions. Increasing your activity levels can decrease your risk for many diseases and chronic conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.
• Strengthen your heart and lungs. Biking improves circulation, strengthens your heart and lungs, lowers your resting pulse rate, and cuts blood fat levels.
• Maintain a healthy weight. As a cardiovascular exercise, bicycling burns calories. Even if you aren’t biking that quickly or climbing large hills, biking regularly can help you maintain a healthy weight.
• Build muscle. Biking engages muscles in your legs, core and upper body, helping you build muscle.
• Boost mental health. Biking releases endorphins in your brain, which make you feel good. Regularly cycling can boost your mood, decrease depression and anxiety, help you sleep better, increase your self-esteem and have other positive impacts on your mental health.
• Save money and benefit the environment. Did you know? The average Coloradans spends $3,173.45 a year driving back and forth to work, according to a 2019 analysis of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau data by Business Insider. Biking to work can save you money!