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In the recent two months I have been experimenting with healthy living, and I found that having a bike makes healthy living a whole lot easier. What is more surprising though is that by riding my bike daily to get places, I see many parts of life in a completely different light. Originally I thought that buying a bike was simply buying another means of transportation, but little did I expect that I would experience a new way of living.

近兩個(gè)月來,我都在體驗(yàn)健康的生活方式,我發(fā)現(xiàn)有輛自行車可以讓健康的生活方式變得更容易。更令人稱奇的是,每天以自行車代步,我都會(huì)從一個(gè)完全不同的角度來看待生活的方方面面。起初,我以為買輛自行車僅僅是換種交通工具,卻從沒想過自己即將體驗(yàn)一種新的生活方式。

Below are 11 advantages of riding a bike that I have noticed in the past few weeks.

在過去幾個(gè)星期,我發(fā)現(xiàn)了騎自行車的以下11個(gè)優(yōu)點(diǎn)。

1) Get to know the city like you never did before. When you ride a bike, you get a real feel for the size of the city that you are in. In a car or on the subway there is only a time measurement, but by bike you can feel the size not only by time but by space because you are peddling. Of course if you walked everywhere you would get a similar feeling; however, walking is too slow to be practical. Previously, Beijing felt like an impossibly huge city. Now, I feel it getting smaller and smaller the more I ride. Within 2 weeks of biking, I got to know every bridge and nearly every street on the north side of the city.

1)重新認(rèn)識(shí)城市,就像你從未了解過一樣。騎自行車時(shí)你會(huì)真正感受到所居住城市的規(guī)模。坐汽車和地鐵只是用時(shí)間來衡量,而騎自行車你不僅通過時(shí)間還能通過空間來感受城市的大小,因?yàn)槟阍诓煌５氐跑嚒．?dāng)然,你步行到任何地方都會(huì)有類似的感覺,但是走路太慢,不切實(shí)際。之前我感覺北京是一座大無邊際的城市?，F(xiàn)在,騎車去過的地方越多,就感覺它像是變小了。兩周的騎車生活,我開始了解城北的每座橋梁、每條街道。

2) Save money. A bike might go for between $50 and $100, but you save money everyday on other things. In Beijing, it is common to take taxis or the subway everywhere. The subway is 2RMB each way, which makes 4 RMB per day. You'll earn the price of your bike back in around half a year. Any 10-15 RMB taxi (close distances) will be easy to reach by bike. I used to take these 2-3x a week, coming in at around 100 RMB a week. Within 2 months I will have made my money back on my purchase. This is all on top of gas savings and parking savings for if you drive often. After that, lifetime savings are yours to keep!

2)省錢。一輛自行車可能會(huì)花50-100美元,但你可以因此節(jié)省其它的開銷。在北京,打的或坐地鐵是很平常的事情。地鐵單程是2塊,這樣每天就要4塊,騎自行車的話半年左右你就把自行車錢賺回來了。花10-15塊打的所行駛的短程距離,如果騎自行車很快就到了。過去,我一周打的2-3次,花費(fèi)大概是100塊。2個(gè)月內(nèi),我就把買自行車的錢省下來了。最重要的是,你騎自行車可以節(jié)省燃料和停車費(fèi)。并因此獲得一生的積蓄!

3) Get exercise. Obviously any movement is exercise. Riding a bike takes a lot more movement than pressing the gas peddle.

3)運(yùn)動(dòng)。很顯然任何活動(dòng)都是運(yùn)動(dòng)。騎自行車可比踩油門運(yùn)動(dòng)得更多。

4) Relax. This one may seem a little counter intuitive to most people, as driving in an air-conditioned car with your choice of music seems relaxing, but it isn't. Riding a bike slows life down and gets you outside in nature (or closer at least) with the wind blowing and the sun shining. On top of that, exercise itself is stress relieving. Ive found myself a lot more relaxed in the past few weeks.

4)放松。這一點(diǎn)可能與大多數(shù)人的直覺背道而馳——開著車,吹著空調(diào),放點(diǎn)音樂似乎更愜意。但事實(shí)并非如此。騎自行車會(huì)減緩生活的節(jié)奏,在風(fēng)兒吹拂和太陽照耀下,讓你接近(至少是更接近)自然。最重要的是,運(yùn)動(dòng)本身就能減輕壓力。在過去數(shù)星期中,我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己更加放松了。

5) Slow life down. Get out of the rush of the day and slow yourself down. Biking isn't so slow that you can't run errands, but it's slow enough that you have time to think and feel rather than worry. Small changes in life tend to have cascading effects, so by slowing down one part of your life you may find that the stress in other parts of your life just isn't worth it. Going from point A to point B doesn't have to be a rush. Take your time.

5)減緩生活節(jié)奏。擺脫繁忙的一天,減緩節(jié)奏。用自行車代步很慢,不宜用來做一些跑腿的事,但是這樣的速度使你有時(shí)間去思考和感受,而不是焦慮不安。生活中的微小變化往往能起連鎖反應(yīng),當(dāng)你放慢部分生活步調(diào)時(shí),就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)生活中有些方面的壓力并不值得一提。從一個(gè)點(diǎn)到另一個(gè)點(diǎn)不必如此匆忙,你可以慢慢來。

6) Freedom of Movement. Walking is too slow and a car is too cumbersome. A bike offers you a healthy balance in the middle, where you get speed and mobility. Going half a mile to four miles no longer becomes a hassle. Also, in a car you are limited to places that have parking spots. A bike has no such limit. By foot you can't go on the freeway - a bike can. A car can't go through the park - a bike can. It feels liberating owning a bike. And hey, if you want to stop and walk, you can park anywhere and just start walking. You could also ride to the subway, park, etc.

6)行動(dòng)自由。走路太慢,而汽車過于笨重。自行車就剛剛好,同時(shí)兼?zhèn)淞怂俣群挽`活性,為你提供一種健康平衡。走半英里到四英里不再是個(gè)麻煩。此外,如果開車,你常被限制在有停車位的地方,自行車卻沒有這種限制。在高速公路上你不能徒步行走——自行車可以;汽車無法通過公園——自行車可以。擁有自行車像就獲得了解放。而且,如果你想停下來走一走,你可以隨時(shí)隨地停車散步,你還可以騎自行車去坐地鐵,去公園或是別的地方。

7) Environmentally friendly. It's man-powered. Save the planet a little bit of exhaust. Hey, it might just be enough to save us all.

7)保護(hù)環(huán)境。騎自行車是人工動(dòng)力的。少點(diǎn)廢氣可以拯救地球。嘿,這可能足以拯救我們所有人。

8)Expand your concept of 'my neighborhood'. Before I started biking regularly, getting to the end of the street was a 15 minute walk, and thus quite a hassle. I only made the 15 minute walk to restaurants at the end of the street rarely, especially since I had to make the walk back too, even though the choices of food there were good. Why would I when there was a lot of decent food just downstairs too? With a bike, what I consider close-by and easy to get to now has expanded even beyond down the street. Its expanded a few miles out, as even what before would be a taxi ride now is an easy bike ride. Suddenly there is a movie theater in my neighborhood.

8) 擴(kuò)展“我家附近”的概念。在我常常騎自行車之前,走到街尾要花15分鐘,這相當(dāng)麻煩。即使街尾餐館的食物好吃,我也很少花15分鐘時(shí)間走路去街尾的餐館,尤其還要花15分鐘走路回去。如果樓下就有比較好的餐館我就更加不可能去了。有了自行車之后,我對(duì)“我家附近”的定義就超出這條街了?，F(xiàn)在已經(jīng)延伸出好幾公里,以前打的的路程現(xiàn)在騎自行車很容易就到了。突然,我發(fā)現(xiàn)我家附近還有一個(gè)電影院呢。

9) Its Fun. Biking is really enjoyable, especially going downhill. You can bike through the park, with your friends, or even cross country. Biking is not just a means of transportation.

9)有趣。騎自行車確實(shí)讓人快樂,特別是騎下坡路的時(shí)候。你可以和朋友一塊騎自行車逛公園,甚至是鄉(xiāng)間小道。自行車可不僅僅是交通工具。

10) Become a part of your surroundings rather than just watching through a window. Driving a car with the air-conditioning on, windows rolled up, and music blazing makes the outside world seem surreal. You become wrapped up in your own little world, just passing through. There is no interaction besides the occasional honk. On a bike the surroundings are very real, and you can even interact with it. Just the other day at a stop light, I turned and talked to an old man on the bike next to me. Try being a part of the world for a week and notice the difference in your stress levels and happiness.

10 )成為周圍環(huán)境的一部分,而不是僅僅一個(gè)旁觀者。駕駛汽車,開著空調(diào),打開車窗,聽著音樂會(huì)讓車外的世界仿如夢幻般的仙境。但其實(shí)你只是駕車經(jīng)過,包裹在自己小小的世界里。除了偶爾按喇叭,再無與環(huán)境互動(dòng)可言。在自行車上,環(huán)境非常真實(shí),甚至可以與之互動(dòng)。那天等紅綠燈時(shí),我轉(zhuǎn)過身和旁邊一位騎自行車的老人聊天。嘗試用一個(gè)星期的時(shí)間成為現(xiàn)實(shí)世界的一部分,去感受你的受壓水平和幸福指數(shù)的變化吧。

11) Stop the sedentary lifestyle. While a bike does have a chair, biking is not a sedentary activity. Going from bed to dining room chair to couch to car seat to work chair and back is a recipe for disaster. Throw in a little movement in your day. If you work too far away to bike, then bike to the store for small purchases, or bike to restaurants, or to the cinema. The more you move the more willing you will be to move and the further away from a sedentary dull life you will get.

11 )停止久坐的生活方式。盡管自行車有坐椅,但騎自行車并不是久坐活動(dòng)。從床鋪到餐廳椅子、沙發(fā)、汽車座椅再到工作椅,這些對(duì)背部來說無異于災(zāi)難。每天都要運(yùn)動(dòng)一小會(huì)兒。如果你工作的地方太遠(yuǎn),不能騎自行車去上班,那也可以騎車去店子里買小東西,去餐廳吃飯,或去看電影。動(dòng)的越多,你就越愿意動(dòng),越容易脫離久坐乏味的生活。

This post is not about getting rid of cars, buses, or subways. I still have to use a gas or electric powered vehicle to get across the city sometimes, as they are faster than a bike. Rather, I'm advocating for people to not solely rely on these forms of transportation. By riding a bike your life will change immensely, as you can see from the 11 points that I wrote above, and there are many more.

本文并不是說要擯棄汽車,公共汽車或地鐵。我仍然不時(shí)要使用汽車或電動(dòng)車穿梭于城市中,因?yàn)樗鼈兯俣缺茸孕熊嚳?。但?我主張人們不能單靠這些形式的交通工具。正如你可以從以上我寫的11點(diǎn)中看到,騎自行車將極大地改變你的生活,而且它還有更多的優(yōu)點(diǎn)。

For those of you out there studying abroad in China, especially in Beijing, then getting a bike is a no-brainer. Chinese cities are extremely bike-friendly: I can travel from one side of the city to the other by bike in about the same time I could by car.

對(duì)那些在中國(尤其是在北京)的留學(xué)生而言,買輛自行車是毋庸置疑的事。在中國城市騎自行車非常方便:從城市的一端到另一端花的時(shí)間和搭車也差不多。