Archive for the ‘Commute Greener way of life’ Category

Hi!

You know, I don’t really get why bicycling have become a hip lifestyle choice. Why so much rage is directed towards it and why you are “one of those greenies” if you pedal to work. I mean, come on! It is just another mode of transportation. Not only that but it is still one heck of a way to get around on shorter distances, and a fun experience if you bring the kids as well.

In my mind, riding a bike should be something natural. There is good infrastructure and you can get around quickly and efficiently without driving. It is not something for just environmentalists and poor people. But for some reason you sure can find a lot of that in arguments online.

The real world doesn’t look like that of course. The infrastructure is often lacking and cycling takes more time, something many don’t feel they have in todays society. Poor people often choose to cycle as it is free, thereby adding to that image. And of course the green crowd pick up the bike as it is good for health as well as the environment. Does that mean that you have to bee in one of those two groups to cycle to work? No. Definitely no.

I myself think it is a cultural thing. You don’t see this as much in European blogs, but in the North American blogosphere this kind of reasoning is everywhere, on both “sides”. Drivers who hate cyclists. Cyclists who hate cars and want them out of the picture. And then there are the sensible people who try to reason and see more then their own sides argument. However, cycling is kind of a new phenomena in North America. Cyclists and drivers don’t know how to interact and coexist and the infrastructure is in my understanding often sub par. In Europe it is more established and kind of natural.

As a cyclist I can really understand why drivers dislike cyclists. When driving it can be scary when you have unprotected and unpredictable people on the road. But that doesn’t account for parking in the bike lane, cutting bikers of and shouting obscenities to cyclists. I sadly have read about in several bike related blogs. I am really not sure how widespread this is. But still. I am also sure that cyclists who doesn’t care to follow the same rules as everybody else, and who are totally unpredictable may play a part as well. I sure don’t like when a cyclist start to wiggle over the road or decides to suddenly turn without a warning. On the other hand I don’t like drivers who act as if cyclists doesn’t exist at all or behaves badly either.

Now this is just some musings on my part. I don’t know the root to the problem. But I know something will have to be done to change this. As of now more and more people decide to use personally powered vehicles for the daily commute. We can’t have people afraid of trying out a bike ride when we have a climate which is changing in a horrible pace and diminishing oil reserves around the world. Bicycling is part of the future. It has to become accepted if we are to solve the problem with increasing traffic. You are not a “greenie” or some kind of hippie for picking up the bike. It doesn’t have to become a lifestyle choice either. This is just another way to get from point a to b.

A green commute is for everyone. It is not special to take the bike to work. Or the bus for that matter. Or walking. But it is good for the environment. It is good for the health. It is good for the wallet. But for it to work we need good infrastructure. And for that to happen there have to be political consent. Which doesn’t come before people really want and use the infrastructure. In other words; try a green commute. Behave well and stay safe. Who knows, if cycling become really common, as it is becoming in many pats of the world, it may move beyond a mere lifestyle choice and become a totally integrated part of the infrastructure. Look at the Netherlands, Denmark or Sweden for example. It is possible.

Fredrik

I often write about how one should prepare for the commute, like bringing a second set of clothes in warm weather, like yesterdays article, or to simply bring the work clothes and change there. At the same time I usually argue against those ghastly  bright colored tight sportswear many seems to opt for. It should be easy to commute greener, and extra gadgets shouldn’t be needed, at least not in the first place. But what of everyday clothing designed especially for bicycle commuters?

Yes, it is true. While strolling through the good old RSS feed I came across this. LA. Times writes about how Levi’s are releasing a line of clothing aimed especially for the bicycle commuter. These denims will resist water and dirt, keep perspiration away from the body and retain heat. In other words, perfect for the bike commuter who enjoy their commute during more chilly and wet periods.

Apparently bicycling to and from work have gotten popular enough around the globe to call it a lifestyle choice now, and in the wake of that comes the market opportunity to sell to those who choose to live it. And I really don’t complain. Clothes like this may very well make bicycle commuting more attractive as it removes one of the planning points at least in part. Dirt resistant and warm clothes with water resistant abilities allows for less planning and lugging of rain clothes after all, which is a good thing.

Funny enough, the designers are thinking ahead and making some design changes from normal clothes. Things like higher waist on the trousers which is really good for a bicyclist unless you like showing buttcheeks to the public, a hold for a bike lock and pockets for iPod/smartphone on the jackets.

Pockets for easy access for phone/keys/lock are an excellent idea, but leaves me slightly worried as well; driving while texting is dangerous, and so is bicycling. People tend to think they can manage, but I have seen it time and time again, cars and bikes who drift towards the opposite line, or who behave unpredictable because of fiddling with the phone. Music while bicycling may also act as a distraction, and if it is as dangerous to bike in traffic as so many argue, shutting of one of the senses and introducing a distraction in the form of music isn’t going to make it safer. The idea for the clothes is excellent, but please use common sense while on the bike commute! (Coming to think of it, that will be the topic for a blog post in a recent future)

All in all, I think we will see more and more of these kind of special “lifestyle” clothes in the future. Bicycling is getting more and more common and with raised oil prices more and more can’t afford to drive. Cheap and effective clothes adapted to the “new” mode of transportation may very well act as a stimulant for a greener commute, especially if it can be reasonably prized. Not that you will have to use special clothes for bicycling mind you. I have gotten by with normal clothes for years. But every little bit helps. This will also draw attention to sustainable transportation which is another good thing for our poor old planet. See. Even the fashion industry can help in greening the planet!

Fredrik

The summer is the ideal season to commute greener. At least in my opinion. The weather is often nice, the nature is green and lovely to walk through and the mornings are warm enough so you don’t freeze, but not hot enough to be sweaty. But the middle of the day, and afternoon is a totally different story. And morning too unless you use zero emission transportation or drives with a good air-conditioning. Buses have a tendency to get really warm even in the chilly morning during summer, and can get unbearable around afternoon. Even biking or walking gets uncomfortable in 26 degree C.

The question is, how do we make a green summer commute easier and more enjoyable? Well, here are some tips:

• For the afternoon commute; freeze some water/sport drink/whatever you fancy and let the plastic bottle (reused of course) thaw during the day. You will have a nice cold drink whenever you feel like it, or just something really cool to put on your neck during the day.
• ALWAYS have something to drink with you. It helps replacing water lost during the day.
• Yogurt drinks. A friend of mine from Pakistan once told me of how they use cold yogurt drinks to stave of the heat during harvest season. I have tried it, and it works surprisingly well for quite a long time.
• As with a general bike commute, bring work clothes in a bag and change at work. You don’t even need a proper dressing room, a toilet stall works fine for this, and you can wipe of excess sweat when you are at it.
• Bring spare clothes; it will help a lot. Why worry about sweat-rings in the armpits when one can simply change shirt when it gets to much?
• Try to choose bicycling or walking over public transportation, even if it means an hour on the road. It is worth it, especially during the afternoon. If that isn’t possible, carpool.
• Cut down on coffee and tea. Both are speeding up urine production and thereby making you dehydrated faster. Not good in the warm season (but not something critical)
• Try to telecommute during the worst days. Then you won’t have to worry about being all sweaty in front of your coworkers.
• When all else fail, or when you just feel like it; ICE CREAM! Hey, it IS hot in the summer, right. An ice cream may very well be what you need to stave of the heat. And it taste good.

Commuting in a greener manner is possible during all seasons, and they all present different challenges. Be sure to be prepared for them. Most of those preparations are common sense anyways, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. And with increasing CO2 levels, slimmer chances to stop global warming at a 2 C temperature increase and less time to do anything against it, we must change our habits. Our transportation habits are some of the easier things to change, so let’s think one step further, be prepared for the summer and let’s make sure our greener commute is as relaxing and smooth as possible even during the summer heath waves!

/

Fredrik

By the way, why not visit us at facebook, youtube and twitter as well!

As stated earlier this week, CO2 levels are beginning to rise again. The International Energy Agency estimates that 80% of the CO2 rise until 2020 will come from already locked in sources, ie. new power plants and increased transportation. The goal of stopping global warming at 2 decrees Celsius is getting more and more out of hand. While it will be difficult to stop this development, we will have to work even harder to prevent the rise to become 2,5, 3 or even higher. All the more reason to get moving right away.

An employer can affect the employees a great deal, at least of how they behave at work. An example is Volvo Group’s environmental management system with its basic environmental course at the introduction for a new employee. Throwing a campaign to promote greener behaviour, including but not limited to the commute, is another good way to make people  think about and see for themselves the benefits of sustainable actions. Commute Greener! is of course a perfect tool for this, as the program not only visualize the commute pattern and tracks progress but also shows rewards in health and wealth as well as provide a way to compare and compete with others.

But running such a campaign can be rather tricky. It has to be well planned and executed with enough rewards to make it interesting, but still stay economical. Timing it to the winter or a similar period of bad weather may also act as a deterrent from participation. There are a lot to think about!

10:10 global recently released an article about how the HCR group made making sustainable choices bearable and fun. Environmental training in itself can have a negative ring to it. It is just more work on an already full schedule for many who are unaware or simply not interested. HCR’s marketer Simon Hood and the other at the head of the environmental program recognised that;

Getting employees’ buy-in is the most important part of the training as they are the ones that make the real impact – turning off the lights, printing less etc. I knew that we had to make the training fun, so at the beginning of December HCR held its first ever environmental awareness day.

In other words, they made something fun out of something that is often done as a routine. Combine that with freebies and competitions, they got the employees on-board for the ride. What’s to say that others couldn’t do the same?

During summer 2010 Commute Greener! ran a commute awareness campaign with Gothenburg City, resulting in more then 10 000 km with public transportation and almost as much gathered Zero Emission kilometres. One of the competing teams even managed to reduce their CO2 footprint from the commute by 2/3. This was the first major campaign we ran, and the experience from it is that if you make it fun enough, people will participate out of free will. Few won’t take up the challenge if they get a chance to win over the boss, or show that pesky “rival” department how much better they are. If you run the campaign for long enough, many will have developed a new habit. As long as the campaign is timed to a period of nice weather and the office isn’t located too far out of the city/there are good access to buses or trams, and the event is well planned and informed about for a while before, you may be able to really make a good impact on the local, regional and global environment. Who wouldn’t want that?

Commute Greener!

CO2 emissions are on the rise again. The economical crisis made a dent in the global CO2 footprint, and with fewer industries running and fewer people driving, emissions of all kind went down. But now the economy is mostly back on track. Or getting there. It is business as usual again. And with that the CO2 emissions are back up. And rising. Steadily.

The International energy agency states that 2010´s CO2 emissions were on an all time high. 2011 will probably be even worse. The goal set in Cancun 2010 of staying on a total temperature rise of 2 decrees C is getting bleaker and bleaker. That much of the estimated rise in emission is from new power plants that is or will be built doesn’t exactly make the situation better.

Climate change and global warming are dangerous and very acute problems. It is time to do something against it. On international and national level our leaders will have to unite and come up with an energy and climate strategy that has some teeth. As it stands now, something radical will have to happen if we are to prevent climate change. Or at least dampen it.

But it is not only the politicians who have a responsibility in the struggle against our long time foe CO2. What we do on a personal level is just as important. Our choices and living conditions play a huge role in how big our Carbon footprint is. Take the One Tonne Life experiment for example. By driving an electric car, reducing meat consumption and living in an energy effective house, as well as a lot of other small choices the experiment family is now down to some 1,5 tonnes/year and person. Sweden has an average footprint of some 5-8 tonnes/year, which is quite a lot. Several countries have even larger footprints.

Technology is important. Greentech is a rapidly growing area. We are bombarded with new smart solutions, helpers, new ways to make energy, smarter cars, phones and information technology. Unfortunately this have bread a way of thinking that is based on the notion of better tech will solve anything. The airplane and energy sectors are very guilty of this. As is the transportation sector. And they are right. In part. To really get a better future we will have to change the way we live. As mentioned above it is possible with the right mindset, some determination and the right tech.

A really good place to start is to look at transportation patterns. An average Swedish car is rolling some 14 000 Km/year, and at least 1/4 of that, probably up to half of it, is totally unnecessary unplanned journeys. A lot of that comes from the commute as well. By choosing the bike or bus, or even our won feet for transportation we can do a lot to reduce our own CO2 footprint. And we must reduce it as much as we possibly can to save this planet. And we only got one. Let’s do all we can to keep it.

You as an individual can affect a lot. So why not do it. Start to commute greener and get in the habit of making green choices. See that it isn’t that difficult or bothersome to make green choices. Switch to low energy lights, stop printing paper unless you really must, insulate the house and buy locally produced grocery’s. Let’s get into the habit of choosing the green alternative and become more healthy as well. You as well as the planet will benefit from it.

Commute Greener! everyone!

Fredrik

An interesting article was posted on grist.org yesterday. It discussed a new Swedish study from Umeå University which show that a long commute increase the risk of divorce in married couples. Now this isn’t happy news, but it is easy to understand why it might be like that. A long commute can really be tiering. Early mornings, late nights, stress and just general bad mood can really put a strain on any relationship, especially if both are having long commutes. In other words, if you are commuting long distances, make sure to find something either relaxing or interesting to do. Preferable both. And to avoid the commute all together of course!

Our own dr Magnus Kuschel working on the commute!

First of all, why not take the breakfast to the morning train? Why waste time on it during morning, when you got some 40+ minutes of dead time half an hour later anyway? The newspaper is another such thing which can be brought and read on the train. That way you save some time during the stressful morning and you get something to do for the morning commute. Every morning you can see women putting their face on during the train ride. As long as that can be done in a hygienic manner, why not? What really matters is to keep occupying oneself  with something that saves you time and which can help you get some more sleep or too stress off.

Another thing to do is to get your surfing done on the train ride. A smartphone or a laptop (notebook) or a wap phone gives some great opportunities and can cut time on those things during the evening when you want to spend time with each others. And you can adjust your Commute Greener! baseline while doing the surfing as well! Well, seriously, responding to mail, sending e-mails, facebooking, twittering and reading blogs or news of one kind or the other takes increasingly more time from us. That time won’t come out of our work time, or we get fired. It comes out of the evening. Why not get that out of the way and get cozy together with the one(s) you love and wind down instead?

Working from the train is another option, which can work out if you have the kind of job which let you do such a thing. Maybe you have reports to read and comment or write, power point presentations to make or check, information to take in etc. If you can work with that on the train it doesn’t always matter that you leave early, as you are still working. Just in another place. While on the move.

And then there is the telecommute option, if it is a possibility. If it is possible to work from home a couple of days/week, you not only save time and CO2, you can get the chance to sleep in a bit and get a rest from the daily journeys. Winding down and relaxing for a day/week can be a godsend, and make you more effective and less irritated, which in turn makes for a better relationship.

To summarize, a long commute can be a pain. With increased stress and irritation it can break relationships and make for a lot of negative things. So turn it around. Plan ahead. Make the commute into something positive, like getting out a bit earlier in the afternoon, surfing and doing “errands” on the computer/phone to neat you more time for relaxation later. Create time for yourself. It isn’t as good as shorten the commute, but it sure helps a great deal. At least in my opinion, and I used to commute some 220 km/day in total every day.

/

Fredrik

In Europe, bicycles are a common sight on the roads. You see them almost everywhere. As most cities are old and not really built with just driving in mind, as compared to many cities in the USA. Look at the Netherlands. Everybody bikes to and from work. Some people even chain the commute by having one bike at home, using it to get to a train station and then have a bike waiting for them when they get to the next city. Yet others use folding bikes.

But when in traffic, how should you behave? What are the rules for bicycles? Well, look it up before getting out there! Being on a bike, or walking, or inline skating or using roller-skies doesn’t give you a right to do whatever you want. While biking, you are operating a vehicle, at least according to Swedish law. I don’t know how it is in the rest of the world, but when biking, you are in fact part of the traffic. Knowing which rules to follow is vital for your safety and for other trafficants! Be sure to look up the rules and to stick with them!

The reason for this being todays topic is this article from treehugger.com. It asks the question “should cyclists have to stop at stop signs?”. My answer to that stupid question is; yes! Definitely. Without a doubt.

Let me explain. Stop signs are there for a reason. They are located in places with limited sight, or where several accidents have happened. Dangerous places. Places where accidents can happen rather easily. Cars are big. And heavy. And fast. Cyclist are slow in comparison, and quite soft and unprotected. An argument for having different rules in the article is that  a bike isn’t a motor vehicle and therefore need special rules. Well, doesn’t it make sense to obey the same rules as all other traffic? This way it makes it easier for everyone.

Traffic rules are all about safety. The speed limit is there for a reason, as is traffic lights and stop signs. They are part of making driving safe. When sharing the road with motorists as a cyclist, it is vital that you do everything you can to stay safe. To often do you see bikers just throwing themselves out in a left turn, or going against red light in an intersection. A few months back I almost got a new hood ornament for the car in the form of an old lady on a mountinbike. She just decided that “everybody sees me, so I can do whatever I want”, or something like that, ignoring the severely limited sight at the location. Nothing happened as my passenger saw her in time and could warn me, but this could have been avoided if she had followed the basic rules of traffic.

Commute Greener! promote bicycling as a great way of getting around. It is cheap, green and good for the health. But it is important to realize that when cycling you are in fact operating a two wheeled vehicle, regardless of how it is powered. A bike making a sudden turn or unexpected maneuver is not better or safer then if a car does it, especially as bikes are slower and need more time to get through a turn or bend. Stay safe, use common sense and follow the traffic rules. That also have the side effect of not pissing drivers of. As long as a cyclist stays within the rules of the road the driver knows where he’ll have the soft two wheeled thing. Then he won’t have to fear hitting the silly looking guy in pink spandex that shares the road with him.

AS for drivers, be careful when you share the road with unprotected vehicles like bikes. They are vulnerable, slow, and not always all that used to being in that environment. Give them some wriggle room and adjust your speed instead of honking the horn. It makes for a nicer traffic environment for everybody.

Fredrik

By the way, why not visit us at facebook and give us a like?

It is cold outside in Trollhättan, Sweden. It is raining. It is windy. In other words, it is a lousy day for an outdoor commute. I am stubborn as a mule, so I walked to work anyway, and home, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience. A day like this it is acceptable to drive. At least in my opinion. And if you have to drive, why not do it in an as green way as possible.

This is what is destroying our climate! Cut CO2 emissions by living greener!

The thing about a greener commute and Commute Greener! isn’t that as soon as you start you can’t ever drive again. It is about creating a new and more healthy and environmentally friendly habit. In other words,  you can drive now and then, but save it for when it is necessary. And do it in a green manner.

Driving is not the most eco-friendly mode of transportation there is. With a CO2 emission of 120 g/km for a small car to almost 300 g/km for a large one you will easily fill your CO2 quota for the week pretty fast. But there are several ways to reduce those emissions. Eco-driving is one such way. but there are several other things one can do to cut the emissions.

Green driving is all about reducing fuel usage. Lower fuel/mile/kilometer means lower emissions as less fuel is being combusted and transformed to energy. It is this combustion process that create CO2. First of all, pack the car in the right way and try to keep the weight doen. Make sure to remove heavy stuff that you won’t need. Extra weight mean extra fuel consumption. Roof boxes are huge wind-catchers and acts just like the air breaks on an airplane. In other words, remove it when not needed. The same is true for other unecessary stuff on the roof.

The choice of tires affect the fuel use more then one might think. The amount of friction, the quality of the material, and tire pressure all factors in how much the car have to work to move forward. Think about that when buying new ones.  Periodic maintainance is another thing. I know I have said this before. Many times. But it bears saying again.

The probably most fuel saving effort, beside switching to another car, is probably to plan ahead. See, that is a running theme on this blog. While driving, plan so you don’t have to stop at red lights. Start slowing down as soon as you see the red light and approach slowly. Make sure to do it smooth too. With practice you will seldom have to stop at all, and that will save a lot of fuel as well as making for a smoother ride. You see, the first gear is the strongest. It require a lot of juice to get going, thus drawing lots and lots of fuel. By planing away stops you can save a lot of gas in the long run.This can of course also be applied to crossings and walkways, roundabouts and just about any place where you might have to stop but can plan it away. Always drive on as high a gear as possible. If the first is the strongest gear, requiring more fuel the fifth is the weakest, thus requiring less fuel. Try to use it when driving somewhat fast. And be firm with your acceleration. This way of driving is called Eco-driving, and isn’t really a new concept. We have written about it now and then here on the blog before, but it bears repeating. If more drivers could use this quite simple technique instead of simply speeding ahead, hit the break, accelerate and speed ahead and then break again, lots of CO2 could be saved in the long run. And if you have an iPhone or other smart phone you can use an app to see your current consumption and emission rate. There are a couple of apps like that out there. Just don’t fiddle with the phone while driving, that’s dangerous.

There are also a lot of additives to put in the fuel tank out there which claims to reduce fuel consumption by X %. I would recommend taking a good look at it and what it is before letting any of that stuff near the car. Some may even work, but most are probably just pure garbage. Some of them may even clog up the pipes, making the car less effective in the long run. Be careful!

The Swedish Association of Green Motorists have a saying; “Inte Bilen under Milen”, roughly translated to “no car under 10 km” (one Swedish mile is 10 km). That is a sound saying. It is ok to drive now and then. Especially on a day like this. Or when you have heavier then usual bags to bring. Or when you have to arrive spotless and are on a tight schedule. Not just every day. Commute Greener! is all about establishing a new habit. It is still ok to use more emission heavy modes of transportation once in a while, when necessary, not just all the time.  Bicycling, walking, public transportation or car-pooling is still a better choice for the environment, but when you really have to by all means drive. But do it in a greener manner!

Fredrik

Done reading? Why not come in and give us a like on facebook and discuss green commuting with us!

I have noticed a quite unusual, at least in my experience, commute-option around town lately. Inline-skates paired with skiing/ nordic walking sticks. If you enjoy inline-skating, why not give it a try.

Believe it or not, I used to dabble a bit with these things years back. Back then it was more of a toy as many youngsters (and some not so young) use them for tricks, but nowadays I can see the potential as a great green commute option. Inlining is fast, really fast .Once you are good at it you can go very fast and maneuver around (or over) most obstacles. It is great exercise too. The drawback is that it is a risky way to commute and gravel or bad asphalt may really ruin your day. Balance can be an issue too, especially at high speed (at least if I remember correctly). Pair it up with a pair of sticks, and it is a bit like skiing; fast, effective, great exercise for the whole body and probably a bit safer. This is one interesting way to commute.

Zero emission commutes are important for our future. It is very important that we find our own personal way of commuting as that increases the chance of continuing and making it a new habit. I like walking in nature, so I walk to work. Others like a bike ride better. Yet others may love skiing during winter, and may be inclined to try something like inline-skating as well. It is worth a try. I urge anyone who tries to think of protection though as knee and elbow pads, wrist protection and a helmet can save you from some very nasty injuries, especially if you aren’t used to this particular commute option. NOT thinking of safety-measures may land you a visit to the hospital, or worse if something goes wrong, and we certainly don’t want that to happen.

Another unusual option might be a long-board, a kind of larger skateboard. If that suit your style, why not try it out? The important thing is to change habits to a greener commute. That can save a lot of CO2, which is needed to fight climate change. Yeah sure a kilo/lb here and there may seem like a small contribution, but many streams makes a river. An active commute once or twice a week can be good for you as well in the terms of health benefits. So get out there and find YOUR zero emission commute option and help tame this raging monster that is climate change before it eats this world alive.

/Fredrik

btw, why not come in and give us a like on facebook, and discuss your favorite green commute options!

You know, many good things comes with a green commute. Last week I walked to and from work every day. A nice walk every morning  and every evening, which have led to great health benefits. I have actually lost almost 3 kg, almost 6 pounds, in one week. Granted, I am a big guy, so I have a lot to take from but still. But all this from simply getting out and moving by my own two feet. And guess what? I will keep at it, as long as the weather is somewhat nice.

We often focus on the bike commute when we discuss a green and active commute here on this blog, contributing alto to the possibility to collect Zero Emission Miles. That is mainly because so much is written about bicycling, and many are becoming aware of this great mode of transportation. The bicycle is certainly suitable for a commuting journey of medium length, while walking is more suitable for shorter distances. Still, if you have the time, try to walk to and from work for a week. It is really a great experience.

Environmentally speaking, I have saved some 2 kg of CO2 during my week of walking. I will have saved 9 kg after one month. The only reason the number is that small is that I usually take the bus, emissions are then some 40 g CO2 per passenger km (i.e. my portion) instead of driving a car. If I would have driven a large car during my regular commute, I would have saved 48 kg (40 trips of 5 km each at 240g CO2/km) in one month. That is like 48 milk cartons of 1 liter in CO2. Or simply, a lot…

But as I said, the environment isn’t the only thing which gains from a greener commute, especially an active one. I can in all honesty say that I feel great health improvements and have a lot of more stamina after having gotten into the habit of taking a morning walk. It wakes me up, give me some time to plan the day and get all irrelevant stuff squared away for the rest of the day. Summer have hit us with everything it has here in Trollhättan (the city in which I am working during May) and it is another great thing. However, the summer with warm weather means you have to prepare in a different way. After all, who want to get to work bathing in your own sweat? Here are some tips on how to make a walking commute easier, so you can continue to commute greener for better health, wealth (walking is free after all) and a better planet as you know;

• Get some good shoes. This is vital, the only really vital part of this list. Good shoes will make sure you don’t strain your back or injure your knees. Or feet. Get a pair of good shoes with support for the whole foot, and make sure they breathe. Smelly feet is NOT a nice thing. Even smelling your own is nasty, then think of your co-workers.
• Get a good backpack which distributes the weight of its content. Ideally you shouldn’t even feel the weight all that much while carrying your food, computer, writing material and other stuff.
• Choose what you wear wisely. Black is NOT a good color for a sunny day, no matter how stylish. I walked into that trap today, with a both wet and unpleasant result. Wide and lightly colored stuff is excellent for hot days.
• The morning is often much colder then the middle of the day, so prepare for that.
• A suit can be brought along, or kept at the office and changed into there.
• Plan your route. Is it possible to get away from car exhaust and noise?  Walking is very flexible  and you may be able to get around boundary a bike wouldn’t.
• Have a good amount of time on your hands. Stuff happens. Walking is slow. ‘Nuff said.
• Keep a bottle of water in the pack to stay hydrated.
• Bring some wet-napkins to dry of excess sweat and clean up at work in case you get a little sweaty.
• And last but not least, enjoy the nicest way to move from point A to B available!

Why not take the opportunity to try walking to work when the weather is nice and some time is at hand. Get in shape, get the opportunity to calm down and work out some stress and to prepare for the day while enjoying the benefits for the wallet in form of saved fuel, health and saved CO2!

/

Fredrik