An Underrated Way to Go Outside More
Introducing something very exciting...
We talk a lot about going outside here — the weekend hikes, camping adventures, x-country ski trips. Those are highlights for us, and often something we look forward to all week long.
But what if there was a simple way to be active outside every day? Think not overhauling your life, just working it into your usual routine, like when you grab groceries, head to work, or meet a friend for coffee.
And what if, in the process, you got all the benefits you already love from your bigger outdoor adventures — the fresh air, the movement, the mental reset, the joy, the community aspect?
Well, dear readers, there is a way, and it’s called bike commuting! Actually, it goes by a few names — biking to work, urban cycling, cycling for transportation — but regardless of what you call it, this habit can totally change your everyday life.
Cailynn and her beloved bright yellow commuter bike
I (Cailynn) have been using a bike this way for almost a decade now — riding to work (back when I worked in an office), to meet friends, to attend events, to do daycare drop offs and pickups, to picnic, the list goes on and on. A year and a half ago, after my family moved to a neighbourhood up a big hill, we bought a cargo bike to ensure we could easily continue this bike life with two kids.
And here’s the fun part — I’ve been working on something behind the scenes to help more people do the same.
Introducing The Ultimate Guide to Bike Commuting and Urban Cycling, a comprehensive online course that will help you make biking a bigger part of your daily life. This course is designed around the idea that bike commuting can improve your life in so many ways, but numerous barriers make it difficult or intimidating to get started.
Your guide is Tom Babin, an author, journalist and the creator behind the popular YouTube channel Shifter, which covers urban cycling, bike commuting and the ways we get around our cities. Tom has been biking to work for 20 years, and exploring urban transportation in depth through his YouTube channel over the past eight years. He is an urban cycling expert, and in this course, he shares all his knowledge in an accessible and practical way.
I’ve enjoyed working with Tom in the past on videos for his channel, doing research and writing on varied topics like the impact of bike commuting on climate change, biking as an overlooked budget hack and the staggering health improvements from biking. We’ve teamed up again on this course, and I’m really proud of what we’ve created.
Cailynn’s family’s minivan
This course covers everything you need to know to start using your bike for transportation. It’s intended for people who know how to ride a bike, but feel overwhelmed or intimidated riding regularly in a city. Maybe you want to start bike commuting, but you don’t know where to begin — what bike to use, how to carry all your stuff, how to make sure your bike doesn’t get stolen. Maybe you’ve tried before, but got discouraged by logistics or safety concerns. Or maybe you’re just tired of sitting in traffic, and you want a better alternative.
The course content is thorough, covering 11 chapters and almost 60 lessons, 2+ hours of engaging video lessons and 12 downloadable PDFs. But it’s also simple and practical — cutting through all of the noise about athletic and sports cycling, and sharing what you actually need to know to use your bike for daily transportation in the city.
So, check it out here. For $99, you’ll get access to the course and a course community. We’re offering an early bird discount of 20% if you sign up before the end of May. Just use the discount code EarlyBird when you check out.
And if you’re already that person — you bike everywhere, you love it, you’re all in — I’m hoping this is something you can share with the people in your life who aren’t there yet. Urban cycling is such a joy, and I truly believe more people should get to experience it!
