Chicagoan Betty Schlatter, a self-described nonathelete, traded in her van for a bike.By Leslie Valentine, Writer/Editor at Environmental Defense

National Bike-to-Work Week is May 14-18, and there's no better time to start doing just that. Here's why. Besides the glorious spring weather, bicycling instead of driving pays off: you save gas money, avoid traffic jams, get exercise, help curb global warming pollution and often save time, too.

Consider these facts:

• If everyone who lives within 5 miles of their workplace left the car at home and cycled to work just once a week, we would prevent nearly 5 million tons of global warming pollution every year — that's like taking about a million cars off the road.
• Pedaling to work 30 minutes a day or even twice a week is a great way to get more exercise while helping reduce unhealthy air pollution. Nearly two-thirds of American adults are either overweight or obese, and cases of Type 2 diabetes are at epidemic proportions.

If you're hesitant about taking the leap, take some pointers from these five commuters who pedal to their jobs nearly every day in Austin, Chicago, Long Beach, CA, New York City and Washington, D.C. From a nurse-midwife who downshifted to a carless life and the photographer who uses his bike to lug pounds of gear to shoots, to the father of two young sons who bikes to work to live simply and economically – each has their own story to tell.

Biking used to be commonplace, and it's surging again

Early in the 20th century, bicycling to run errands or to work was common in the United States. Even in the 1940s, people often biked to make short utilitarian trips. But bicycling and walking increasingly took a back seat to driving in the 1950s and 60s, with the advent of the high-speed Interstate Highway System.
Today, bicycling to work is enjoying a rebirth. Some 2 million Americans cycle to work or use a bike as part of their job (nearly 10 million walk to work). Bicycling trips have doubled since 1990. (Read the full story.)

Growing bike-friendly options can entice more people to bike

National surveys indicate many more adults would bike to work if they had safe routes, secure parking and changing facilities. Cities and states across the country are responding. From spread-out cities like Houston to dense urban centers like Chicago and New York, more bike lanes, paths and greenways are in the works or on the drawing boards. (Take our survey and let us know if you bike to work, and if not, why not.)

Bike transit centers are proliferating across the country, too. They offer convenient, locked facilities to store bicycles at train and bus depots, so commuters can combine pedal power and mass transit.

But the picture is not all rosy. Although more people are bicycling more, more people are driving more too. The percentage of bicycling trips has barely budged in relation to driving.

That's where you come in. Consider biking to work at least one day a week and see what a difference it can make.

See how five other cyclists manage the daily commute.