Have you heard of a M.A.M.I.L? No? Neither had we. Thanks to the boom in cycling over the past couple of years, a new special has been born. The MAMIL, a.k.a Middle Aged Man in Lycra is now a growing phenomenon.
Whilst there has been a notable growth in cycling’s popularity with middle aged men, reports show that only around 2% of children regularly cycle to school. The main contributor to these figures being so low is the concern parents have over safety. In the Netherlands, where cycling is a huge part of culture, the number of children cycling to school is around 30%.
Why?
The University of Leeds have spent some time researching the benefits of cycling and found some amazing results. Calculations show that if the levels of cycling were to increase to 10% of journeys by 2025 (rising to a further 25% by 2050), the country would save around £248 billion over the next 35 years.
Just how much money is that to the Government? I hear you ask. Well, £248 billion would cover the education budget for the whole of the UK for almost three years; it equates to more than 20 times the Governments road maintenance bill for the next six years or most impressively; would pay for all health spending in England for 4.5 years.
How?
The bulk of the saving comes from people being fitter and therefore not relying on the NHS as much. Using bikes instead of vehicles would create cleaner air lowering illnesses such as asthma and fewer road accidents would also benefit the NHS spending.
Reading these facts and figures, they seem a little ambitious don’t they? However, the figures were agreed by a cross party ground of MP’s in a report entitled ‘Get Britain Cycling’. Increasing the number of cycle lanes or making the existing ones wider and linking them together better are just a few of the ways the Government have promised to increase cycling.
Cycle Storage
With more and more of us choosing to cycle to work, make sure your employees have somewhere safe and secure to store their bikes. Encouraging cycling leads to a whole host of benefits as we have already explored above. Not only is it good for the economy, but it is also has a huge positive affect on mental and physical well being. Shop Cycle Storage and Cycle Racks with Cycle Shelters Direct2U.
