Why Cycle? 

"I thought of that while riding my bike" Albert Einstein, on the theory of relativity

"Cycling is easily the quickest way around central London, faster than bus, Tube or taxi. You can predict precisely how long every journey will take, regardless of traffic jams, Tube strikes or leaves on the line. It provides excellent exercise. It does not pollute the atmosphere. It does not clog up the streets."
Newscaster Jeremy Paxman

"Jeremy Clarkson always moans on about drivers being attacked. We should be hounding them even more - cars have no place in an urban environment." John Grimshaw, founder and chief engineer, Sustrans

"The finest mode of transport known to man." Adam Hart-Davis

"Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia." H.G. Wells

Lots more bikey quotes here

It's healthier

Regular cyclists have a fitness level equivalent to someone ten years younger: BMA report Cycling Towards Health and Safety 1992

Regular Cycling can improve your health through increased fitness, lower risk of heart attack, shedding excess weight, and reducing stress.

Just because you may be more aware of pollution when you're cycling, it doesn't mean you will be worse off than the fuming commuters in their gridlocked cars that you leave behind. In fact, the truth is quite the reverse:

You can use cycle routes, often on quiet back streets where the air is cleaner.

You will get to where you want to be sooner.

You are getting all the health benefits from (moderate) exercise.

Research by the Environmental Transport Association has shown that air quality is poorer inside cars where pollutants tend to concentrate and cannot escape.

It's faster

Average daytime motor traffic speeds in central London are around 10mph - ref: London Travel Report (2007). Most cyclists can easily exceed that speed, and finding a parking space is much quicker too! Even in the outer London borough of Merton, cycling is faster, as our Commuter Challenge events show year on year.

This map comprehensively shows that if you want to commute to the Department for Transport (near Lambeth Bridge) and you live anywhere near the centre of London, it’s best to get on a bike if commuting speed is your main concern. Map gratefully copied from http://www.mysociety.org/2007/more-travel-maps/

It's cheaper

You will save lots of money by going by bike. So will the taxpayer! Providing for cycling is hundreds of times cheaper than providing for motoring.

It's greener

Air pollution levels in parts of Merton regularly breach safety guidelines set by the World Health Organisation. Poor air quality is increasingly blamed for various respiratory complaints, including the alarming rise in childhood asthma – one child in seven is now a sufferer. By cycling, instead of driving, you become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

It's more fun!

Experience the sense of achievement that goes with getting there under your own steam.

Experience the joys of whizzing past gridlocked traffic to get to your destination on time.

Experience the glow of satisfaction that comes with knowing you are using the most energy-efficient transport system ever devised by man, equivalent to doing 1,600 miles to the gallon!