[Due to Chicago's fickle spring weather, we celebrate Bike to Work Week a month later than most of the country. However, to get you excited for next month's events and about encouraging friends and family to try urban cycling, here are some interesting stats about the benefits of biking. - JG]
Happy Bike to Work Week, everybody! It's a great time to give a gentle nudge to someone who you think would benefit from biking. In that vein, personal trainer and fitness coach Stephanie Averkamp of San Diego posted this infographic to her personal health website. She says she especially hopes to convince overweight and obese people to bike more.
"Biking's a great exercise because it supports 50 to 70 percent of their body weight," Averkamp told me. "It's not like running. It's something they can do without the extra weight and impact on their joints." She said biking is a great way to get exercise outside of a gym, which can be intimidating and unpleasant.
She encourages people to start by biking halfway to work. "That counts!" she says.
Infographic after the jump.
