“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realise fishing is stupid and boring” – Desmond Tutu
Donna Greenyer
Project Manager, Boost Awards
Thinking about cycling to work?
Having never been one for sport (or exercise in general to be fair), I have preferred instead to slouch on the side lines, sneering with disdain, and truthfully a touch of envy, at those who partake in bettering their physical selves. It’s an ugly truth, but I’m deeply competitive – having to “get good” at something, especially if it’s in direct competition with others, just isn’t going to happen. Or at least I thought that was the case…
Imagine then my surprise when I realised that not only had I somehow taken up a sport, but I had also managed to incorporate it regularly into my life! Initially, I cycled to work because it saved me £5 a day on my commute to work. Then I cycled to work because it meant I didn’t have to sit on a packed bus. Then it was because I could cut my journey time down from 45 minutes sat in traffic, to just 20 minutes! However, before I knew it, I wasn’t just cycling to work because of the cost, sanity and time savings, I was cycling because I loved it; the feeling of freedom and getting to places under your own steam is certainly hard to beat!
Living and working in Brighton also probably helps. Brighton and Hove’s City Council has continued to make improvements to existing cycle lanes (including the impressive coastal route), brought in the city’s Smart Bike Share Scheme and introduced contraflow cycling on a “network of lightly used, one-way streets”. For the most part, commuting into Brighton City centre is a breeze, especially to our office space at Platf9rm.
So what are the benefits of cycling into work and why should you give it a go?
- Environmental: Brighton is a green city in all areas, including commuting – “The national average proportion of people cycling just once a week is 12%, but in Brighton the percentage is higher at 17%”.
- Health: Cycling not only improves cardiovascular fitness, increases muscle strength and improves joint mobility, it also decreases stress, (one of the main benefits I find to cycling).
- Cost: Taking the bus to work costs me £5 for a return ticket. Parking my car can cost anything from £5.80 to £31.00! Cycling, once you have the bike of course, is free. Boost Awards is part of the “Cycle to Work Scheme” which means anyone purchasing a bike through the salary sacrifice scheme could save up to 42% on the purchase of that bike. Several member of our team regularly cycle to work and there is an increasing interest across the business.
- Flexibility: I can park pretty much anywhere, which in Brighton is a real blessing, especially with controlled parking zones.
- Faster than the bus: It takes me around 45 minutes to get into the centre of town on the bus; cycling cuts that down to 20 minutes.
- Smugness!
“Cycling to work is good for your health, the planet and your wallet. I now save time getting to and from work, but the biggest surprise of all for me has been that I now absolutely love doing it!”
What may put you off cycling and why you should do it anyway
- Near-death experiences: These can be invigorating I suppose! To be honest, as long as you don’t have earphones in, wear a helmet and high-visibility clothing, you are relatively safe. I have seen more near misses with pedestrians and cars.
- Wind direction: Like a sea captain, you become obsessional about wind direction, but ultimately if you have to battle cycling into the wind, at least it burns more calories.
- Sweaty Betty: Yes, you will sweat and your work colleagues probably won’t like to sit next to you, however working at Platf9rm in Hove we are lucky enough to have access to showers!
- Bike maintenance: Basically, this is just adulting!
- Crazy bike lanes in Brighton: Cycling into traffic in contraflow areas can be a little scary, sometimes cycle lanes can appear to come to an abrupt end and the odd tree can create an obstacle course – but it all keeps you living in the moment! If you want to see some examples of the weird cycle lanes of Brighton, visit http://freddio.ueuo.com/cyclelanes/index.html
“Brighton has some of the strangest cycle lanes in the UK. This short beauty is my personal favourite”.
Get on yer bike
If you are considering cycling to work, now is the perfect time to start, as Cycle to Work Day is taking place on Thursday 8th August. This year they have seven fantastic cycling challenges starting in July, “each one designed to ease you into the saddle and celebrate your cycling endeavours’. Visit https://www.cycletoworkday.org/taking-part to learn more.
Boost – a helping hand entering awards
Boost Awards is the world’s first and largest award entry consultancy, having helped clients – from SMEs to multinationals – win over 2,000 credible business awards. Increase your chances of success significantly – call Boost on +44(0)1273 258703 today for a no-obligation chat about awards.
(C) This article was written by Donna Greenyer and is the intellectual property of award entry consultants Boost Awards
Awards List
Please take a look on our UK Awards List and International Awards List websites where you can find many more financial services awards (amongst thousands of others covering all areas of business).
“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realise fishing is stupid and boring” – Desmond Tutu
Donna Greenyer
Project Manager, Boost Awards
Thinking about cycling to work?
Having never been one for sport (or exercise in general to be fair), I have preferred instead to slouch on the side lines, sneering with disdain, and truthfully a touch of envy, at those who partake in bettering their physical selves. It’s an ugly truth, but I’m deeply competitive – having to “get good” at something, especially if it’s in direct competition with others, just isn’t going to happen. Or at least I thought that was the case…
Imagine then my surprise when I realised that not only had I somehow taken up a sport, but I had also managed to incorporate it regularly into my life! Initially, I cycled to work because it saved me £5 a day on my commute to work. Then I cycled to work because it meant I didn’t have to sit on a packed bus. Then it was because I could cut my journey time down from 45 minutes sat in traffic, to just 20 minutes! However, before I knew it, I wasn’t just cycling to work because of the cost, sanity and time savings, I was cycling because I loved it; the feeling of freedom and getting to places under your own steam is certainly hard to beat!
Living and working in Brighton also probably helps. Brighton and Hove’s City Council has continued to make improvements to existing cycle lanes (including the impressive coastal route), brought in the city’s Smart Bike Share Scheme and introduced contraflow cycling on a “network of lightly used, one-way streets”. For the most part, commuting into Brighton City centre is a breeze, especially to our office space at Platf9rm.
So what are the benefits of cycling into work and why should you give it a go?
- Environmental: Brighton is a green city in all areas, including commuting – “The national average proportion of people cycling just once a week is 12%, but in Brighton the percentage is higher at 17%”.
- Health: Cycling not only improves cardiovascular fitness, increases muscle strength and improves joint mobility, it also decreases stress, (one of the main benefits I find to cycling).
- Cost: Taking the bus to work costs me £5 for a return ticket. Parking my car can cost anything from £5.80 to £31.00! Cycling, once you have the bike of course, is free. Boost Awards is part of the “Cycle to Work Scheme” which means anyone purchasing a bike through the salary sacrifice scheme could save up to 42% on the purchase of that bike. Several member of our team regularly cycle to work and there is an increasing interest across the business.
- Flexibility: I can park pretty much anywhere, which in Brighton is a real blessing, especially with controlled parking zones.
- Faster than the bus: It takes me around 45 minutes to get into the centre of town on the bus; cycling cuts that down to 20 minutes.
- Smugness!
“Cycling to work is good for your health, the planet and your wallet. I now save time getting to and from work, but the biggest surprise of all for me has been that I now absolutely love doing it!”
What may put you off cycling and why you should do it anyway
- Near-death experiences: These can be invigorating I suppose! To be honest, as long as you don’t have earphones in, wear a helmet and high-visibility clothing, you are relatively safe. I have seen more near misses with pedestrians and cars.
- Wind direction: Like a sea captain, you become obsessional about wind direction, but ultimately if you have to battle cycling into the wind, at least it burns more calories.
- Sweaty Betty: Yes, you will sweat and your work colleagues probably won’t like to sit next to you, however working at Platf9rm in Hove we are lucky enough to have access to showers!
- Bike maintenance: Basically, this is just adulting!
- Crazy bike lanes in Brighton: Cycling into traffic in contraflow areas can be a little scary, sometimes cycle lanes can appear to come to an abrupt end and the odd tree can create an obstacle course – but it all keeps you living in the moment! If you want to see some examples of the weird cycle lanes of Brighton, visit http://freddio.ueuo.com/cyclelanes/index.html
“Brighton has some of the strangest cycle lanes in the UK. This short beauty is my personal favourite”.
Get on yer bike
If you are considering cycling to work, now is the perfect time to start, as Cycle to Work Day is taking place on Thursday 8th August. This year they have seven fantastic cycling challenges starting in July, “each one designed to ease you into the saddle and celebrate your cycling endeavours’. Visit https://www.cycletoworkday.org/taking-part to learn more.
Boost – a helping hand entering awards
Boost Awards is the world’s first and largest award entry consultancy, having helped clients – from SMEs to multinationals – win over 1,300 credible business awards. Increase your chances of success significantly – call Boost on +44(0)1273 258703 today for a no-obligation chat about awards.
(C) This article was written by Donna Greenyer and is the intellectual property of award entry consultants Boost Awards
Awards List
Please take a look on our UK Awards List and International Awards List websites where you can find many more financial services awards (amongst thousands of others covering all areas of business).
