It can't be denied: humans are damaging Earth. Through our industries, food production, transportation and even in the waste that we produce, our planet is in trouble. If we don't do something soon, it may be too late to reverse the course we're on. 

Autos produce emissions from the burning of fossil fuels: this is an undeniable fact. Canada has a very large area with a comparatively small, spread out population: transportation of goods from their source of production to market, from market to home and transportation of people is a big part of living in Canada. The majority of people and goods are transported by way of some type of auto or train which uses fossil fuels: transportation accounted for 22% of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 - the only sector producing more is oil & gas. Concerningly, the emissions associated with transportation increased by 27% from 1990 to 2021, driven by an increase in freight-duty trucks and a shift to more pickup trucks & SUVs (and a decrease in smaller cars) for passenger transport. (Read more about these statistics from the Government of Canada)

Exhaust from automobiles that runs on fossil fuels is responsible for about 21% of the nitrogen oxide emissions, 51% of the volatile organic compound emissions and about 4% of the fine particulate matter emissions released in Canada. Where autos are more concentrated the concentration of these pollutants rises, resulting in smog and poor air quality. In Calgary, mostly because of our low air humidity levels and tendency to have some wind, we rarely experience smog warnings, but that doesn't mean we aren't negatively affected by air pollution. Symptoms of exposure to polluted air include eye irritation, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, coughing, aggravating pre-existing conditions such as asthma, heart or lung conditions: chronic exposure can lead to chronic lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, or premature death. Health Canada estimates that exposure to air pollution from all sources (wildfires as well as human-sourced air pollution) contributes to more than 15,000 premature deaths per year in Canada - about 1,400 per year in Alberta. The economic cost is huge as well, not just because of the deaths, but for those who were unable to work due to being ill, the cost of hospitalization and treatment of short and long-term effects of air pollution: this number was estimated at about $120 billion - or 6% of Canada's gross domestic product - in 2016. As our population grows, more people are exposed to more pollution and the number of premature death and economic impact also grows. So what can we do about it? 

Something that rarely is brought up in discussion of the benefits of cycling is the actual physical surfacing of roads and pathways. The amount of asphalt in existence is staggering, and all of it contains bitumen, which has to be dug from the earth. Further, the asphalt mixture must be heated in order to be applied onto the surface, and doing so releases a large amount of pretty nasty compounds - you know the smell! What many don't know is that asphalt surfaces continue to release particulate matter, and other compounds, just laying around, especially when exposed to sunlight and heat.

Ok, that's going to happen regardless of whether an auto or a bike travels on the road. But what happens when a vehicle rolls over the road surface? 

We've all seen it: the indents from heavy vehicles, typically at intersections or in parking lots. The heavier the vehicle, the more force it applies onto the road surface. Eventually, the asphalt will have compressed too much (the indents are unsafe or cracks have appeared) and it will need to be replaced. To be fair, asphalt road material can - and usually is - recycled, and turned right back into a new road (sometimes literally immediately!), but the process is not without an environmental, and emissions cost. So it just goes to reason that lighter vehicles will compress the road less, resulting in a longer period of time before the asphalt needs to be replaced. 

Bikes, like autos, vary in size and weight. My bike is a reasonable quality, with a fairly light-weight aluminum frame. Including the accessories on my bike, it weighs about 18kg (40lbs). I always carry panniers (bike bags) with me, and lug around far more than is necessary, adding an additional 4.5kg (10lbs) or so. Plus my body weight, including my clothing and helmet, on a warm summer day; my bike, panniers and me weigh less than a motorcycle with no operator and about 1/10th what a small auto weighs with no operator. The F-series pickup trucks have been the best selling truck in Canada for 57 years: over 114,000 of these trucks sold in Canada in 2022. The smallest of them, the F-150, weighs at least 1,800kg (4,000lbs), again with no operator or carrying anything else, not even the accessories I have on my bike.

Do bikes wear out the road? You could argue that given enough time, bikes would eventually wear down the road, but the damage is so small compared to even the smallest auto that it's essentially zero. 

If you want to reduce the environmental impact of resurfacing roads, using them with smaller vehicles is one way to do so. 

Switching gears a little bit (pun intended), to explore beyond the impact of the actual vehicle.
Let's talk about a few aspects of cycling:

Riding a bike requires the operator to exercise. Ugh, right? I know. I really don't like exercise. But riding a bike doesn't feel like exercise, it feels like fun. The exercise just happens while I'm out riding my bike. It's been known since forever that in order to be healthy, our bodies need to move. Biking is a very low impact exercise that is accessible to virtually everyone! People with balance issues, who are blind, those with disabilities, children, the elderly, wealthy or impoverished: a bike is inexpensive, can be equipped with balance-assisting features (tricycles or even quads), operated by hands, have motors to assist, or put a seeing person in the front. There's even pedal-operated busses and trains and boats! All of these pedal-powered modes of transportation have the same benefit: turning pedals and using your muscles to move you from place to place is exercise and with exercise you reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, some forms of cancer, diabetes, arthritis and obesity (note: you don't need to be skinny to ride a bike, nor does weight loss need to be a goal. You can be classified as obese and still be healthy! Read more here). Beyond physical health, exercise is great for mental health, as well, having been repeatedly proven to reduce the risk of developing depression and anxiety as well as helping to manage the symptoms of many mental health conditions. The best exercise is the one you'll stick with, and you will stick with the activities that are fun. Biking is fun, for me, though I despise riding up hills.

Health care in Canada is (mostly) covered. There's definitely a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to mental health care. We've already established how exercise is important for improving health, both mental and physical, and the results of that are obvious when it comes to health care costs: numerous studies from multiple countries show without a doubt that where more cycling happens, health care costs are lower. A study showed that cycling saved the Australian government $227 million AUD in 2008, Denmark estimated the encouragement of cycling saved them 40 million Euros annually, and in 2013, a Swedish doctor studying cycling in Portland, Oregon concluded that "just half an hour of bicycling a day can result in health care savings of $544 per person, per year" (US dollars; source). It has been known for a number of years that encouraging people to get more active actually saves money. Going back to Denmark: Copenhagen in the 1970s was not a very bicycle-friendly place but the oil crisis of 1973 changed many things. It took political will, loads of public spending, and growing understanding of the environmental and human costs of automobiles, but now more than 2/3 of the trips made in Copenhagen - to work, school, shops, activities - are made by bicycle. People who bicycle in Denmark have a 6 month longer life expectancy than non-cyclists and it is estimated that cycling prevents about 6,500 deaths a year (about 0.1% of the total population). Study after study shows that the return on investment to encourage cycling is high: fewer people die from inactivity-related causes, fewer people die from air pollution, fewer people suffer from mental health illnesses like depression, and workplace and school focus and productivity is higher, resulting in fewer workplace-related injuries and deaths. 

The safety aspect of cycling can also be overlooked, or downplayed, too. Not just in regards to the health of cyclists and a reduction in health care costs for cyclists themselves, but also for society as a whole. We've already discussed the dangers of air pollution, and cycling helps to reduce those dangers to everyone, but there's also a decrease in risk for pedestrians and other road users - even motorists! How does this happen? A combination of all the factors already discussed - less road wear and tear, lighter vehicles, healthier cyclists - but also the lower speed of travel. Bikes are small, light weight vehicles, which do not contribute to road wear and tear, keeping the surface free of cracks, potholes, dips and bumps for a lot longer, which makes the roads safer for motorists as well as for pedestrians to cross or just be near. You're almost certainly not going to get splashed by a cyclist going through a puddle when you're walking beside the road, but the same isn't always true of an auto going by. Bikes are going to cause far less damage to a human or an inanimate object (including an auto) if a collision occurs: even at the same speed of travel. Bikes are also more maneuverable, making collisions less likely. Lastly, the speed of travel is a major consideration in the safety aspect: bicycles typically travel slower than autos, resulting in more time to react and a lower force if there is an impact. Would you feel more comfortable walking beside, crossing, or allowing your children to play near a road filled with bicycles or automobiles? Not only does it feel more comfortable, it's genuinely safer for there to be more bikes than autos. 

The planet we live on is hugely impacted by the choices we make, as are our individual lives. Choosing to ride a bike, whether it's once a month or everyday, has many positive effects: you will improve your health, increase the safety of the roads for everyone, reduce air pollution and the need for road repair, and you'll have fun doing it all. 

Sadly, due to a lack of staff, Safer Cycling Calgary is unable to offer summer daycamps this year. :( 

We hope to see your child in a camp in 2024. 
Thank you for your understanding.