Why the best form of transportation is YOU
We all do it. In any given day, each of us travel from Point A to Point B to Point C and so on. Many of us bridge the distance between these points in a motorized vehicle of some sort (car, SUV, truck). We sling seatbelts over our shoulders, slam vehicles into reverse, shift into drive and zig from home to daycare to school, zag to office to meeting to grocery store to Scouts (baseball, swimming, book club) and zig back home again.
IT’S TIME TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
We may not be able to change the fact that we need to get from place to place. But how we get to one or all can be done in a healthier and happier way, even if just a little bit. We’re talking about active transportation: commuting by foot, bike or wheelchair.
For example, we might choose cycling or wheeling/rolling to work or school instead of driving, and rather than pulling out a bus pass, for instance, we can pull out a pair of running shoes and walk.
But what if the distance is too great and time is too precious to realistically commute via active transportation?
FIRST—YOU’RE NOT ALONE.
A lot of folks find themselves in this situation. Second – No problem; we don’t have to ‘do it all.’ We can mix and match by, say, driving the car but making a point to park it farthest away from the door, so we can stretch and strengthen our legs. Another possible mix-and-match scenario would be biking-bussing. We bike part of the way and then bus the rest by strapping our two-wheelers to the front-of-the bus bike rack. Lots of Canadian cities have bike racks on public busses including Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and others.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Over the next month, we’ll focus our attention on active transportation, address the myths and barriers around it and offer ideas to help you get from Point A to B to C by using your own steam. Even incremental changes can bring big benefits to our bodies, our mental health and our overall well-being.
Here’s your challenge for this week: choose active transportation (walking, running, cycling, wheeling) and track it with the Moves App. Input your results in our Active Transportation Journal and see if your total score meets or exceeds the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity by the end of the week. Also fill out the “mood” and “energy” columns to see how more exercise correlates with more smiles and more spring in your step.
