ohLooking out the window on a rainy morning is extremely depressing. Can I cycle to work? Probably not. A little rain would be okay, but this is a downpour. I have to take the subway, but it’s hot and crowded, and my neck hurts because I’m pressed up against the side of the car. It’s muggy and smelly, and the subway has stopped. “Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, we’re running a red light so please wait here for a moment.” What a miserable start to the day.
I started cycling to work about nine years ago after moving to London – it was a decision out of necessity. The desire was gone. I was an archaeologist at the time, working on various construction sites around the city, traveling to a different location every few weeks but earning very little. A Zone 1-2 travelcard would cost £164 a month, but the bike my colleague suggested would cost about the same and allow free travel for as long as I rode it (except for the occasional puncture and servicing). I bought a single speed (not fixed gear) bike for £170 and that was it.
What started as a financial necessity quickly turned into a love affair. In college, I started gaining weight from drinking too much alcohol and eating too many Icelandic chicken nuggets, but after I started biking about three miles in the morning and afternoon, I started losing weight and feeling better.
It came as no surprise to me this week to two studies focused on how men can avoid an early encounter with death: One study found that cycling to work halves the risk of early death from illness, and also reduces the risk of prescribed medication for psychiatric conditions.
Another report by the charity Movember is more pessimistic. British men die several years earlier than men in other wealthy countries such as Switzerland and Australia. The report says that 133,000 men die prematurely in the UK every year, many of them from preventable diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Life expectancy for boys born in the UK in 2021 is 78.7 years, 2.6 years shorter than in Australia. Men also die on average four years earlier than women. Two in five British men die prematurely before the age of 75. People living in the most deprived areas are 81% more likely to die prematurely than those living in the most affluent areas.
Looking at these statistics, I’d like to think that in terms of lifestyle I’m on par with those over 75. When I look at the men of my generation that I hung out with at school and university, I see boys who were once keen football, rugby and basketball players who have since taken a different path to me. They drink too much, eat unhealthily and stop exercising. This is understandable; it’s hard to make time between work, life always gets in the way and there’s so much pressure on time. I’ve had periods of unhealthy eating and drinking too much for many years, but I continue to cycle to work because it gives me daily exercise and mental relief.
The answer isn’t necessarily as simple as picking up a bike and starting to ride, but I recommend it. It’s well-known that exercise has a positive effect on mental health. For me, cycling to work has had a fantastic effect. So even this small change might help the mental health of some men.
My journey begins in East London, near Victoria Park. I drive fairly slowly, watching the light sprinkle on the leaves of the trees in front of me, dappled on the ground. I watch people running and walking, chasing dogs through the grass. I think about the day that has passed and the one that is to come. I enjoy the simple movement, the sound of chains and tires on the road, and the silence. It’s one of the few moments of true silence.
In a way, cycling has become like a meditation. I don’t rush, I don’t listen to music or podcasts, I don’t look at my phone, I don’t look at Twitter/X or WhatsApp. I just put my phone in my pocket and enjoy the ride. I recently read Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days I also liked how the main character cycled through Tokyo slowly and carefully. That’s what I try to do when I cycle too. I like to cycle in busy areas. I think most drivers are careful and I’ve never had an accident or even come close to one (good luck with that…). You can usually spot a driver who isn’t careful – by the way they accelerate and the body language of the car. My father was a driving instructor so this was drilled into me from an early age.
Sean Russell and his trusty single-speed commuter bike at work
Rachel Speed
Cycling marks the beginning and end of my day. It calms me down and prepares me for the office and relaxes me at the end. After a particularly stressful day, a 30-minute ride is exactly what I need. By the time I get home, the stress is gone, I can forget about work and get on with the next thing.
But I think there’s more to it than that. There’s a question of correlation versus causation: Does cycling help prevent premature death, or is cycling a sign of someone already living a healthy lifestyle, or something that encourages that lifestyle?
Since I started cycling to work, I’ve grown to love it even more, and bought another bike (with gears and racing handlebars) to take to the country on weekends. I went out with my brother and swore I’d never become a Sunday Lycra-wearing bike warrior, but I ended up doing it. A few weeks later, I was hooked and in the best shape I’ve ever been. I no longer wear Lycra to work, and I wear normal clothes when I ride my single-speed bike. Single-speed bikes are cheap, so if one gets stolen, it’s no big deal (but it would be heartbreaking).
On top of this, my new found love for cycling led to other changes in my life. I started to think about what I ate and preferred vegetables and fruits. I drastically cut down on my drinking because I didn’t want to ride with a hangover. I wanted to become a better cyclist so I started doing more exercise like running and swimming, all of which made me feel good. I probably would have been drawn into this lifestyle in other ways, but for me it all started with buying a cheap bike and cycling to work.
Of course, there is one footnote to all this: road safety. When I ask my friends why they don’t cycle, the biggest barrier is often the fear of riding on busy roads. That’s understandable. In 2011, Times journalist Mary Bowers was hit by a truck and left unconscious. After that, the Times launched its “bike-friendly cities” campaign. You shouldn’t have to be a confident cyclist to commute by bike, but it often feels that way, especially since cycling infrastructure, while improving, is still not enough. I try to point out that the number of cyclist fatalities is falling sharply (83 cyclists will lose their lives between June 2022 and 2023, a 22.5% decrease from the previous year), but statistics are not always enough. And things could still be much better. 83 is too many. And it takes just one terrible accident to make all these statistics meaningless.
The first time I rode a bike in London, I was so scared. Now I feel sad if I can’t ride a bike. It interrupts my meditation and makes my day sad.
