Bikes Make Healthy Businesses

Healthy employees, lower healthcare costs, decreased absenteeism, and more productivity — these are the hallmarks of a company that embraces bicycling. So it’s makes good business sense that more and more companies, large and small, are supporting cyclists in the workplace.

Just two weeks ago, we released an impressive list of new Bicycle Friendly Businesses from Apple, Inc. and Facebook, to Burton Snowboards and Hottman Law Office. It was on the momentum of that announcement that I traveled to Hollywood, Fla., to attend the Employer Healthcare and Benefits Congress.

Standing in front of the backdrop “Bicycling Means Business” (pictured) I spoke to hundreds of the attendees about the great benefits of biking and how the League’s free Bicycle Friendly Business program can change the health and wellness of any workplace. At the conference, there were so many companies exhibiting software to manage employees’ fitness; services to install and manage workout centers; exercise tracking systems and weight-loss programs — all of which mean purchasing a potentially costly service or complex system.

I quickly realized I probably had the easiest job there: Selling the knowledge of how an employer can support bicycling in his or her workplace. After all, bicycling is free and fun and our program isn’t complicated.

I also got to make one attendee very happy by handing her a free Trek bike that she won through our raffle. Johnnie Bratrude, an employee of PCC Natrual Markets, was eager to get home to Seattle to start riding. “I live on a lake with a bike trail around it so I’m looking forward to clocking many miles here,” she told me. “My husband has even gotten in on the action by installing panniers so I can go grocery shopping at PCC. Thank you so much!”

Apply on-line and see how your business is encouraging and supporting bicycling in the workplace. You’ll receive free feedback and might just win an award!