Cycling to work is healthier — but is it also faster?
By Alex Branch
Would a bicycle get you to work faster? Maybe you’ve pondered that question in your car during a slow, congested morning commute.
Two UNT Health Science Center College of Pharmacy professors will answer the question — albeit quite unscientifically — Friday on Fort Worth Bike to Work Day.
At 7:30 a.m. at the Fort Worth Station downtown, Patrick Clay, PharmD, will start pedaling his Specialized Shiv Sport bike on Lancaster Avenue to UNTHSC. Lawrence Cohen, PharmD, will leave at the same time and on the same route in his restored 1969 Porsche 911S.
The finish line is in front of the Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library at UNTHSC. Dr. Cohen must find a parking spot before arriving at the final destination.
“Lancaster is 40 miles per hour so he might have an advantage there,” Dr. Clay said. “The good news is that it is almost all downhill for me.”
Dr. Cohen said, “We’ll see if Dr. Clay stays on course, while I’m hoping for dry roads and sunny conditions.”
WFAA will broadcast the Bike to Work Day celebration and race start at Fort Worth Station. The event is a collaboration between the City of Fort Worth, FitWorth, Blue Zones Project Fort Worth, and Fort Worth Bike Sharing.
UNTHSC provides a programmatic home for FitWorth, launched in 2012 by Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and Fort Worth City Council to promote healthy families. Biking to work can boost one’s physical health while also helping to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion.
UNTHSC promotes healthy lifestyles and alternative transportation modes to students, staff and faculty by offering Fort Worth bike-sharing stations, bike racks and a fitness center where active commuters can shower and change clothing, said Noah Drew, FitWorth Director.
“The Health Science Center thought about the barriers people face in finding alternative modes of transportation like cycling and took steps to alleviate those barriers,” Drew said. “We’re excited to see who arrives at the finish line first.”
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