Thinking of ditching the car and getting on your bike? One Cork worker did just that

Cycling to work is a game-changer for my brain space, heart, lungs, strength, sleep, balance and creativity, as well as hugely expanding my social network across the city.

And I am not the only one.

My neighbour, Ciara O’Riordain recently discovered the joys of transitioning from car to bike for her daily commute from Ballintemple to Cork University Hospital (CUH).

In the summer of 2023, CUH announced the planned closure of on-site parking to facilitate building works. Park-and-rides from Model Farm Road and Curraheen Road would be provided as alternatives.

These options were not ideal for commuters like Ciara living in Ballintemple. She tried Cork City Bus but found it took 90 minutes and two buses to get into work.

Ciara looked at the squeaky clean green bike resting under the stairs and wondered if she could cycle to work. ‘No way… you are too unfit,’ her inner critic warned.

‘But you could get fit from cycling, and it is good for the environment,’ urged another voice. 

Thankfully, Ciara listened to that one.

The next few weeks of that 7km cycle were not easy. It took about 40 minutes. She needed a shower when she got to work and was a little nervous cycling. However, as her confidence grew and her cycling time reduced to about 25 minutes, she really began to enjoy it. So much so, she wondered why it took the closure of the car park spaces to get her on her bike.

Ciara found herself enjoying the sights and sounds she never experienced in the car. The roar of an Under 21s Ireland soccer match in Turner’s Cross. The smiling, happy faces heading into a Sting concert in Musgrave Park. The elegant trees that line Clashduv Road, and the friendly fox in Ballinlough heading home after a night out as she headed to work.

Ciara isn’t alone.

Cork Cycling Campaign volunteers stand at cold city corners giving out free lights on winter evenings, and Chairperson Helen Guinan tells me there has been a huge increase in the last number of years – now they need two people instead of one at each corner to keep up with demand.

To those of us already commuting and cycling short distances around the city, the benefits are abundantly clear, but for anyone thinking about ditching the car to get to work or travel round the city, here are some of the best reasons to do so.

There are so many ways cycling can improve your mood. There’s the release of adrenalin and endorphins and the improved confidence that comes from achieving new things. Cycling combines physical exercise with being outdoors and exploring new views.

Riding on your own makes time to process worries and concerns, riding in a group broadens your social circle.

Research shows cycling helps to strengthen your immune system. A paper in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise reported that in a study of 1,000 adults up to the age of 85, exercise had huge benefits for a healthy upper respiratory system and reduced instances of the common cold.

Cycling to work can reduce the time of your commute and free you from the confines of germ-infused buses and trains, made all the worse in winter as windows are closed against cold, wind and rain.

Cyclists have better lung health. A study by the Healthy Air Campaign, Kings College London, and Camden Council showed that drivers received five times higher pollution levels than cyclists, as well as three and a half times more than the walker and two and a half times more than the bus user.

Cycling cuts the risk of heart disease and cancer. It raises the heart rate and burns calories, limiting the chance of being overweight. As a result, it is recommended as a healthy way to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.

New evidence from the University of Glasgow that followed 260,000 participants over five years, found that cycling to work can halve the risk of developing cancer or heart disease.

Added to that, cycling is low-impact compared to running so risk of muscle damage and other injuries is much lower.

Now a new study finds people who frequently ride a bike are significantly less likely to have osteoarthritis and experience pain in their knees. If you’re still not convinced compare these three experience:

Get in the car, sit in traffic, fume at the delays, queue to get into a car park or find a parking space, pay to park, arrive.

Walk to bus stop, wait for bus, complain about it being late, get on bus, pay, watch as it takes you for a tour of the suburbs or city, arrive about half a mile from your destination.

Get on the bike, filter past traffic, enjoy the fresh air and movement of muscles that have been cooped up all day, feel a rush of endorphins and the wind in your hair, nod to neighbours, arrive.

Cycling saves on petrol and cash on public transport, gym membership, car rage, eating unhealthy snacks, as well as time. It helps you get to know your city. Exploring streets can provide essential exercise for underused internal mapping capabilities, giving you an intimate knowledge of your home environs.

Cyclists sleep better - the science proves it. It can also reduce anxiety.

A 2013 study found that cyclists’ blood flow to the brain increased by over a quarter (28%) following a cycle and up to 70% in specific areas. Added to that, the blood flow remained up by 40% even after exercise. Improved blood flow increases the delivery of all sorts of nutrients to the brain that keep us healthy.

Cycling improves spacial awareness – all that climbing, descending and cornering teaches us to use our body weight to get the body where we want it to go.

This is really important as we get older, when balance and muscle strength begin to decline and risk of falls increase.