Best Ever Bike Commuting Guide for National Bike Month 2011

Blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Company
May 12, 2011 1:20 PM ET

Taiga Company blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Compa…

How many short trips do you make by car daily?  Think about it…maybe a quick jaunt to pick up some milk or items for dinner.  Run to the post office?  Drop off kids at sports practice?  Approximately 40% of all trips in the US are two miles or less.  Considering that each trip in the car is contributing to issues of the environment, an alternative solution is bike commuting. 

Cycling is part of a sustainable lifestyle, is alternative transportation, helps the environment, and also raises eco awareness.   It seems that most people think of bikes as recreation but in our sustainability consulting with business and individuals, we encourage employers and workers to consider cycling as alternative transportation as well as part of a sustainable business strategy.    Not sure if bike commuting is for you?  Well, May is National Bike Month and a perfect time to find out!  Those living a sustainable lifestyle and bike commuting do enjoy fringe benefits.  In fact, you can get paid to bike to work.  Your two wheels are now recognized by the IRS as a “qualified transportation fringe benefit” which means that the costs (up to $20/month, $240/year) associated with riding your bike is eligible for reimbursement.  Explained in our eco friendly consulting, that things like spare tubes, bar tape, riding gloves, eye wear, cycling clothes, commuter bags, rain gear, lights, gloves, helmet, cost of maintenance, even the cost of a new commuter bike, basically anything you can purchase at a bike shop qualifies for reimbursement.   Here’s how you can participate in National Bike Month. Click here for the guide.  

Home to one third of the earth's trees, the Taiga is the largest land-based biosphere and encircles the globe. Its immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the planet. It is this continuous renewal that has shaped Taiga Company's vision to drive similar change in the business world. Taiga Company seeks to be the "oxygen for your business".