Last week, we told you about how one of the keys to staying fit as we get older is to just keep moving.

Today, we’re going to tell you about one of the best ways to integrate fitness into your daily life:

Bike commuting.

There’s so many benefits that we know you’ve already heard about. We almost feel we don’t need to tell you all of them again.

But we will anyway:

• Get your sweat on. It makes you a multitasking genius, getting to work and getting in your workout at the same time. Gmap’s handy homepage calculator can tell you how many calories you’ve burned on your ride.
• Save money. Less cash spent on gas and car maintenance.
• Save the environment. Bikes are pollution-free.
• Coolness factor: Car drivers envy you as you zip by them. You carry your bike up steps.

Leon on one of his infamous Bangkok grocery runs. He cracked this bike frame — twice.

We have a few bike commuters in the Gmap Pedometer family. And it hasn’t all been roses cycling through the wilds of Maine, New York and Bangkok.

We’ve learned the hard way (by falling) about crossing railroad tracks perpendicularly and (also by falling) about how many bags of groceries we can carry at once. (None is your hands is a good idea).

During his daily 8KM commute through Bangkok’s streets, Leon has to keep an eye on pushcarts, motorbikes and tuk-tuks in addition to the cars. His serpentine route to work clocks in at about 35 minutes, faster than almost any other method for getting to the office.

Here are a few tips we’ve learned:

• Pick routes where the cars go slowly. Heavy traffic can be your friend.
• Be ever mindful. Of said cars.
• Minimize turns against traffic.
• Be visible. Phrases like “Christmas tree” or “alien spaceship landing” should come to mind when people see you blinking and flashing along. In the daytime, wear a neon safety vest for visibility.

And for tips on staying cool in hot weather, check out this previous post.

Safe riding!