Do you know the feeling of happiness on your birthday? Today Wednesday 3 June is the birthday of a dear friend of ours: the bicycle.

And how best to celebrate the world cycling day if not with a nice ride?

You know, this season, with heat and clear days, is perfect for a ride with our favorite travel companion.

Taking a bike ride is good for us and others. It keeps us fit and makes the world around us greener. Not only.

In fact, pedaling makes you happy: the scientists who have been studying the benefits of cycling on our brain for years, agree: pedaling lowers stress and decreases depression. In a word, it gives happiness.

Furthermore, it protects the heart and does not damage the joints: studies show that the bicycle is useful for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and avoids their worsening in the elderly. Unlike running, cycling is a low-impact sport: by pedaling, we do not exert pressure on the joints of the lower limbs and preserve their integrity.

Isn't that enough? Do you think that according to a study by the British Heart Foundation, a quarter of Brits think that those who use bicycles on a daily basis are charming, intelligent, ecological, selfless and generous. In short, the cyclist is the ideal partner, other than the footballer.

This time it's not worth having an excuse ready, like "I have a broken bike, it's now unusable". In fact, a platform will be available shortly on the website of the Ministry of the Environment to request the mobility bonus: a contribution equal to 60% of the expenditure (but not exceeding 500 euros) to encourage the purchase of sustainable forms of transport such as bicycles, electric scooters, hoverboards or segways.

A good reason to leave the car in the garage and jump in the saddle!

In this situation, in full phase 2 after the Covid-19 health emergency, sustainable mobility seems to be the immediate anti-infection solution. Avoiding the gatherings of public transport is the first step to return to the normalcy of the past.

They are also noticing it on the upper floors; those who govern us have already prepared resources to make the roads that lead us to school or work more usable and comfortable.

Improvements of cycle and pedestrian paths (sometimes created even from scratch), preferential bus lanes with transit allowed for bicycles, installation of new racks for the parking of our green vehicles and rental of alternative vehicles such as bikes or scooters: all this for greater freedom and road safety.

On this special day for bicycles, we reflect on what a ride can give us rather than the continuous use of the car.

As the writer James E. Starrs said: "A bicycle ride is an escape from sadness."!