I Challenged Myself to Bike to Work Every Day for 1 Year

I have an 18 km roundtrip commute to work every day. Up until now I’ve been using my 1994 Volvo station wagon, which of course runs on gasoline. But the underlying guilt for contributing to climate change, and the curiosity to try something new, led me to take on a challenge. I decided that for one year I would bike to work every day - come snow or rain - and see how that would affect my life.This is the result.

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[sunray]

I have no car or motorcycle. I cycled to work since 1980s and felt off if I didn't cycle for 2 days.

[nicdesjardins]

I love this - very inspiring! I've been without vehicle my whole life. I bike in the spring, summer, fall and walk in the winter. This is a good kick in the butt to get a little more geared up and start biking in the winter instead of falling back to walking.

[siriusesmind]

I have an 8.5 km commute one way, that used to take me with public transport up to 1 h sometimes even more because it took me trough city center, when I started cycling to work it was max 30 minutes it was stress free and I have bike lanes all the way from A to B, not to mention the health, fitness benefits and wight loss I'm expiriencing.
I'm never going back 😅

[FredFox-mv]

I commuted 27.2 km to work and 27.2 km back, 5 days a week for 25 years in all weather, all year in the NE of England. Sometimes including a 17 hour shift, once a month or so on our blast furnace maintenance day. All the time, I had a brand new car in the garage. During that time, I used to cover 300miles /480 km per week on average in total, commuting, training and time trial cycle racing. I am 65 now in perfect health and still cycling but only for pleasure and training. I have never suffered any knee problems, ever.

[AndreaTotolo]

This video made me want to bike everyday, to have kids with my girlfriend, to slow down my life in general, to breathe fresh air. I loved it, thank you for this.❣ Greetings from Italy!

[char]

I've been biking to work since the late 1980s. It's the BEST part of my workday!!

[kitchencarvings]

One thing that I never see included in the cost savings of biking to work and for errands is the savings on medical bills in the future. You are going to be much healthier and with less chance of getting major diseases that cost a lot to manage. It's not a guarantee but there's a good chance you will save hundreds of thousands of dollars long term.

[Redbird]

Born in 1957, UK, I got rid of my car in 2011 and I don't miss it at all. I now cycle, walk and public transport everywhere. Since 2013 I got into cycle touring and wild camping and have travelled through most of England. You can live without a car, it's not difficult. I, too often, hear "Oh, but I need my car, I couldn't survive without it" Fossil fuel is a finite resource that will run out in the, not to distant, future. This age will be known as the "Oil Age" and future generations will look back and say "they wasted a precious resource and for what?".

[paolocruz]

I love videos like these how they share their stories of how they found cycling to be a part of their everyday life where they once thought of it that it would not work out. I love this.

[galactikeur]

You were brave to try! Especially in a (I suppose) rural area where infrastructure can be less ideal. But cycling around is a pleasure indeed

[TwiinStar]

I'm a road cyclist but I also bike in to work every day. It's about a 6km commute that is largely uphill (90m elevation gain). It's faster and cheaper than transit. It's also WAY cheaper than a car would be plus my office has no parking anyways and a car would at best be 5 mins faster (and best case would be few and far between with traffic). It helps keep me in shape and wakes me up in the morning. Just like you I listen to podcasts on my ride in. In my opinion, people with less than a 10km ride who live in highly populated areas (I live in Toronto, Canada for reference) should be commuting by bike as it overall is just better.

[thanneriksson]

Fantastic, very inspiring, and great film making by capturing and presenting the challenges in an optimistic and positive way, and in the end translate them into everyday benefits, simultaneously promoting more sustainable transport means. Great job!

[jayziac]

Last couple of years I also started commuting with my (regular &) e-bike more, and I've reached the same conclusion, sometimes doing things with our body, taking a bit more time, is the key to enjoying life. Not to mention the health benefits of cycling and being outdoors.

[dreadsces]

I’ve been biking to work for 7 years now, last week I took my niece to work experience at my place and we took the train, I think I experienced withdrawal symptoms by the third day 😂😂😂

[markswjg]

Amazing stuff, hoping to bring this attitude to the UK!

[Rake]

I wish we had access to those bikes at those prices here in Canada! Awesome vid, thank you very much!

[JulianSummerhayes]

Super impressed Mattias. And a wonderful film. Thanks for sharing my friend.

[Ladadadada]

Like many of the other commenters, I ride to work, but the difference is that I'm in a big city so I switched from public transport rather than a car. The differences between my experience and yours:
1. No time lost. The ride plus shower takes almost exactly the same time as the old trip. Driving would have been much slower than cycling is.
2. Not as much beneficial impact on the environment because I was already not causing much impact.
3. I avoid annoying crowds and the sickness that comes from them.
4. I probably save more money, because I think my public transport is more expensive than your gasoline. (Not 100% sure on that though, old Volvo and all.)

Things that were the same:
1. I love the gentle exercise and fresh(ish) air in the mornings.
2. I did learn to always take wet and cold weather gear with me.

[Phalaenopsisify]

Bra gjort! Och så är du som förälder en god förebild dessutom.

[joeh]

now this was supercool, i gotta try it too :) thanks for sharing and making it beautiful.