National Bike Month is coming up in May, and Bike to Work Week is May 14-18. But there’s no reason you can’t get a head start.

Biking is great for your health, conserves fossil fuels, and doesn’t contribute to climate change.

It’s been said that the average American uses more energy each day than the average blue whale. (Well, that’s not quite true, but apparently, pound for pound we do use around 200 times as much energy as our cetacean cousins.)

Whales don’t have to work, of course. They just swim around all day eating krill. We have to toil for our meals, and transport our blubber from one end of town to the other. Of course, we could trim that blubber and reduce our energy use, all by taking a pleasant ride.

Most likely, it will take more time — and certainly more effort – to bike to work, but your ride is just as likely to be a pleasant one. Try it once, and see if you like it. Feel like a kid again. You can always go back to the road more traveled.

Do you already bike to work or have plans to start?