National Cycle To Work Day is on Thursday and here Rob Derry, of Swindon BUG - Bicycle Users’ Group Steering Committee - takes a look at what is good about commuting by bike.

THURSDAY, September 3, is National Cycle to Work Day. Obviously, there are quite a few people for whom this is not a possibility because they might work 50 miles from their home or are required to go to different work sites throughout the day, for example.

There are two key reasons that people give as to why they don’t cycle to work and these are that “it’s too far” and “I’ll arrive at work all sweaty.”

So, how far is too far? There are very few houses in Swindon that are more than four miles from the town centre.

The cycle network in Swindon provides many opportunities to cycle to the town centre without going on any busy roads and, even at a modest pace, it’s only going to take you half an hour. It can take that, and more, to get into the town centre in your car on most days in school term time. On your bike, you can avoid all of those queues.

Will you really arrive at work “all sweaty”? Well, that’s down to you. Someone with a basic level of fitness (e.g. you can walk up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath) should be able to cover four miles in half an hour without getting out of breath or sweaty.

Your gearing on your bike essentially makes you an efficient pedestrian. Every step if you were walking is translated in to a much greater distance through the pedals.

And, of course, you can simply stop pedalling and get some free distance if you’re going downhill! Save your sprinting for on the way home if your employer doesn’t have shower facilities.

The biggest benefit, in my opinion, is that you get your daily quota of exercise when you would otherwise be sitting motionless in your car.

Staff who cycle to work arrive alert, happy and ready for the day ahead. They save a lot of money too! Swindon has some first class cycle routes, many of which are off road.

So, what should you do if you’re considering cycling to work on Thursday? Swindon BUG has a few tips and there are more on its Facebook page here www.facebook.com/pages/Swindon-BUG/1583148758589992

Rob’s top 5 tips for taking part in Cycle To Work Day:

1/ If you can, leave a change of clothes at work on Wednesday and get changed when you get to work

2/ Make sure your bike is roadworthy if you haven't used it for a while. A quick check of brakes, tyres and the chain/gears reveals as much as you need to know.

3/ Don’t treat it as a race and ride within your capabilities

4/ Obey the Highway Code

5/ Let Swindon BUG know about your experiences of cycling to work on Thursday.

“We’re also interested to hear of what, if anything, your employers are doing to encourage you to use the bike instead of the car to get to work,” said Rob.