After watching the episode of The Apprentice featuring the Bee3Pod and reading an article last week in the BMJ lamenting the lack of enthusiasm shown by NHS trusts to embrace the Cycle to Work scheme, a thought came to my mind..what if I went to work on a cycle? I live in Bedford and travel everyday to work (Wellingborough) by car. I spend a good 45 minutes on the road each way. This equates to 3.8 tonnes of carbon emission per year. About 3-4 days a week, I also undertake home visits. If I chose to cycle to my local train station, took a train to work ( 12 minutes) and then cycled to my surgery, the benefits would be:

1. My emission would be 0.4 tonnes ( and that includes taking my car for home visits) , less if I could do the home visits on a cycle
2. My health would improve
3. I can do a bit of reading on the train
4. I do not have to worry about the stress of traffic

Ofcourse, the British weather is a spanner in the works. I do not see myself cycling when it is wet. Even if I did this for 3 months in a year, it would be good.

The one big question at the back of my mind is the home visits. Is it possilble to do these on a cycle? With the help of the Bee3Pod, I could fit in my doctor's bag on the cycle and Wellingborough is definitely cycleable. Most visits are within a mile of the surgery. Time should be manageable. Are there any doctors that do this? I know many of my hospital colleagues do this. GPs? I am not sure. It would be good to hear from any that do!!!

An interesting article I came across whilst googling for any information was this article in the BMJ more than 30 yrs ago! This Associaition does not seem to exist anymore.

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