Why Driving a Car is like Eating a Doughnut

Every once in a while, a coworker will bring in some doughnuts to work in the morning. It's a fun treat that goes great with my coffee and puts me in a good mood. But if we had doughnuts in the office every morning it wouldn't be so enjoyable, and it certainly wouldn't be good for my health.

Delicious, but not something you should have every day.

Which brings me to my thesis: driving a car is like eating a doughnut. It's frankly quite enjoyable and there's no harm in doing it every now and then. But do it every day and it's bad for your health. Just like doughnuts, there's nothing inherently wrong with driving a car, but the negative effects have a way of compounding the more often you do it. A doughnut is full of empty calories, sugar, and fat. Driving a car is a sedentary activity that can contribute to weight gain. In fact, a University of Illinois study found a near-perfect correlation between the two: an increase in miles driven was consistently followed by an increase in obesity rates several years later.

On top of this, driving is expensive (as is a daily doughnut habit) and causes pollution (even doughnuts don't damage the environment!) Like eating a doughnut, it's not something that does much harm if it's only every once in a while. The occasional doughnut is worth the empty calories because it tastes really good. But doing it every day can cause serious problems. Sometimes, you need a salad.

Bike commuting is that metaphorical salad - it may not have the popular, all-American status of driving or doughnuts, but it's what will keep you going for the long-haul. It will make you feel more alive than driving in a metal and glass cage, insulated from the world around you. Not to mention, it's a hell of a lot of fun. Even doughnuts don't put you in as good of a mood as riding a bicycle. It's why bike commuting is the best of both worlds - all the fun, none of the calories.

Enough of my ramblings - go ride your bike.
-K