Apr 012018
Why 30 Days of Biking? (Or More)

Calendar page showing 30 DaysYou may think that by pledging to 30 Days of Biking you’re helping yourself form a healthy new habit. That may be the case — but it may take more (or less) than 30 days.

Heaven knows I’ve taken enough runs at it, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. I have a bike habit but it doesn’t arise directly from this commitment, although I encourage people every year to sign up. There just seems to be something about making a public commitment and setting a specific target.

Let’s get the first myth out of the way — there is no magic number of days for formation of a new habit (or breaking of an old one).

Observations by one doctor in 1960 about recovery from surgeries such as plastic surgery and limb amputation got turned into “Truth” about 21-day habit formation thanks to the speed with which a catchy idea propagates regardless of any underlying facts (and in the absence of research). Believe it or not, this happened even before we had the Internet or Twitter to help us.

So Why 30 Days?

Is 30 Days of Biking for You? How About One Day?

You may be someone who forms habits easily or someone who needs many more repetitions.

You may be trying to start a bike habit for its own sake, or to replace something negative.

You may already think you’re going to miss a day or two, so why even try?

No matter how you slice it you won’t make it to Day 30 unless you start with Day 1, so why not get rolling, just in case?

What They’re Saying Right Now on Twitter about

Twitter feed is not available at the moment.

More Reading on Habit Formation

Sharing is karma--pass it along!

Reader Comments

Write a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.