COLUMBUS, Ohio – Your commute to work could be the best part of your day.

Riding a bicycle to work saves money on gasoline, provides exercise and usually guarantees a great parking spot, NBC 4's Marshal McPeek reported.

One such bicyclist, Matt Young, said that he rides to work at Battelle almost every day, even in the winter.

"Weather is an issue," he explained. "But it's surprising how few times it actually rains or snows during the specific time you need to commute."

Young carries a special satchel for his laptop computer and lunch, as well as a small toolkit just in case of a breakdown.

According to Young, fixing a bike is much cheaper than fixing the car, he doesn't have to pay for gas and he gets a workout every day.

Battelle's "Bike to Work" program gives employees free reflective safety vests and every building has a bike rack right up front, McPeek reported.

"No matter what time you get here, it's right by the door," Young said.

The program frees up an additional 20 to 30 parking spaces for additional employees. And that's not the only benefit to the company.

"A healthy employee is a happy employee and that's great for us," Mark Berry, a Battelle spokesperson, said.

Columbus has dozens of miles of paved greenway trails with more under construction and others in the planning stages. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Council (MORPC) said that a few hundred people already commute by bike on a regular basis.

Which, according to Erin Miller of the MORPC, is great because "the less driving we do, the better our air quality will be."

Battelle said that they hope other companies will follow their lead and encourage even more people to bike to work.

Stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.

Additional Resources:
Battelle
National Center for Bicycling & Walking
Ohio Bicycling Federation
Bike To Work