IKEA To Employees – Here’s A Bike For Christmas!

What will your boss give you for Christmas? U.S. IKEA employees got an early Christmas gift and thank-you, a brand new mountain bike! Why a bike? Because when it comes to sustainable transport, a bicycle is a great option. And when it comes to healthy living, riding a bike is one of the best cardio forms of exercise.

All 12,400 U.S. IKEA employees walked away from work this week with a silver mountain bike, a gift the company says is a big thank you to workers for a great year.

"This is our way of saying 'thanks IKEA co-workers for being strongly committed to working together,' " Mike Ward, IKEA U.S. president, said in a statement. See the complete story at CNN.com.

• Bicycling is an excellent cardio-vascular exercise, which promotes heart health. Just like in any other aerobic workout, bicycling makes your heart pump harder. Also blood circulation increases and eventually, your resting heart rate will decrease. (Helium.com; Benefits of Bicycling by Erich Rosenberger M.D.)

• On average, commuting 10 miles a day by bike in 30 minutes, instead of driving a car burns 110,250 calories (keeping off 30 pounds of fat each year). (Sources: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, RailstoTrails.org, Fitsugar.com, Adultbicycling.com

• Cycling just 20 miles a week can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 50%. (Sources: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, RailstoTrails.org, Fitsugar.com, Adultbicycling.com

• Countries with the highest levels of cycling and walking generally have the lowest obesity rates. (Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia)

What would you do if you got a large gift from your employer? Would you keep it, sell it or re-gift it? Comment below.