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Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists. Apart from ordinary two-wheeled bicycles, cycling also includes riding unicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, and other similar human-powered vehicles (HPVs).

Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now number about one billion worldwide. They are the principal means of transportation in many regions.

Cycling is an extremely efficient mode of transportation optimal for short to moderate distances. Bicycles provide numerous benefits compared to motor vehicles, including exercise, an alternative to the use of fossil fuels, no air or noise pollution, much reduced traffic congestion and likelihood of causing a fatality, easier parking, greater maneuverability, and access to both roads and paths. The advantages are at less financial cost to the user as well as society (negligible damage to roads, and less pavement required). Criticisms and disadvantages of cycling include reduced protection in crashes, particularly with motor vehicles, longer travel time (except in densely populated areas), vulnerability to weather conditions, difficulty in transporting passengers, and the skill and fitness required.

Women riding a bicycle in Paris, France.

LAPD officers on bicycles in Los Angeles, California.

Utility bicycle featuring rear internal hub brake, chaincase and mudguards, kickstand for parking, permanently attached dynamo-powered lamps and upswept handlebars for a more comfortable grip position.

A man with sports clothes and a white helmet on a bicycle on a road.

Heavily equipped London commuter cyclist: specialist cycle clothing, pollution mask, dark glasses and helmet.

Utility

A bicycle loaded with tender coconut for sale. Karnataka, India.

Main article: utility cycling

Utility cycling refers both to cycling as a mode of daily commuting transport as well as the use of a bicycle in a commercial activity, mainly to transport goods.

The postal services of many countries have long relied on bicycles. The British Royal Mail first started using bicycles in 1880; now bicycle delivery fleets include 37,000 in the UK, 25,700 in Germany, 10,500 in Hungary and 7000 in Sweden. The London Ambulance Service has recently introduced bicycling paramedics, who can often get to the scene of an incident in Central London more quickly than a motorized ambulance.

Late in the 20th century, urban police bicycles became more common, as the mobility of car-borne officers was increasingly limited by traffic congestion and pedestrianisation.

Bicycles enjoy substantial use as general delivery vehicles in many countries. In the UK and North America, generations of teenagers have got their first jobs delivering newspapers by bicycle. London has many delivery companies that use bicycles with trailers. Most cities in the West, and many outside it, support a sizeable and visible industry of cycle couriers who deliver documents and small packages. In India, many of MumbaiÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Dabbawalas use bicycles to deliver home cooked lunches to the cityÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s workers. In BogotÃƒÂ¡, Colombia the cityÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s largest bakery recently replaced most of its delivery trucks with bicycles. Even the car industry uses bicycles. At the huge Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen, Germany workers use bicycles, color-coded by department, to move around the factory.