Bicycling improves personal fitness, enhances energy levels, and is easy on the body. Bicycling can be a great way to maintain, control or lose weight. Bicycling is a low impact, low stress exercise which can be continued later in life, and is appropriate even for those desiring only moderate levels of physical activity. Many runners switch to bicycling when they experience exercise injuries. Commuting by bike has helped many office workers fit a regular aerobic activity into their busy, but often sedentary office routine. Bicycle commuting reduces stress and lowers the risk of heart disease by combining a workout with a commute.

For adult bicyclists, the health benefits alone of cycling outweigh the crash risk by a ratio of more than ten-to-one, in terms of years of life gained versus lost, according to Mayer Hillman’s Cycling: Towards Health and Safety, which examines the health benefits of bicycling.