Buffalo may be America's favorite city--it certainly is mine--but it is far from the fittest place in the nation.

In fact, Buffalo Niagara ranks in the bottom third of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas for fitness. So even though Buffalo scores well for walkability (actually, better by RedFin in 2015 than by Walk Score this year), we're apparently not walking enough. I know I'm not, try as I might to steal 30 minutes from my work day to take a brisk walk around Ring Road or Hoyt Lake.

Thirty minutes a day really is enough, according to the Surgeon General. The recommended amount of physical activity a week is 150 minutes, says Phil Haberstro, Director of the Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo and WNY. Yep. That's just 30 minutes a day, five days a week. 

May is both National Fitness Month and National Bike Month. I am going to make it my Walk and Bike Month. The weather is improving by the hour, and swimsuit season is right around the corner. What's more, walking has been proven to improve creativity. So, starting today I really am going to find that 30 minutes, even if it's just flying down the very long corridors in the Tri-Main Center and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

I plan to make up for all those missed walks by doing the Skyride over the Skyway this Sunday. It's a two-fer for me - great exercise and a physical statement in favor of what I am calling the SkyPark: repurposing the Skyway as an elevated pedestrian and bicycle park connecting the inner and outer harbors, rather than demolishing it. I can't stand the thought of wasting this unique place to walk and bike.

Buffalo is inherently bike-friendly. It's flat. But GoBike and Justin Booth deserve a round of applause for very effective bicycle advocacy over the past decade.  Bike lanes, bike paths, bike events, bike repair, bike to work...These did not exist when I returned to Buffalo in 2006. It was impossible to even rent a bicycle. I know; I tried. GoBike and its Complete Streets initiative has made Buffalo a bronze-level bicycle friendly community per the League of American Bicyclists.

The next level is silver. The GoSilver Campaign is a concerted effort to improve cycling in five areas: engineering, education, encouragement, evaluation and planning, and enforcement, to achieve silver-level bicycle-friendly community by 2017. Support this. In fact, Friday, May 20 is Bike to Work Day. If you can't manage this tomorrow, consider choosing any day between now and Memorial Day and give it shot. Not everyone can do this, but at least consider the possibility.

I can hear the groans already. Bike? Me? Living in Germany was a revelation for me. Everybody bikes everywhere. Every day. Children ride bikes to school, mothers ride bikes to the market, grandmothers ride bikes to...wherever grandmothers go. Bikes are everywhere all the time. I rode to the market every day with my two-year-old in a bike seat behind me and my infant in a comfy carrier on my chest. Fresh produce, bread and other daily supper ingredients fit nicely in the basket. It really can be done when the community supports it. When everybody does it. This must be the gold-level of bicycle-friendly communities. 

But for the faint of heart, let's talk about walking. Which is very good for your heart, as well as your brain. Again, just 30 minutes five days a week will take you to a new level of fitness. But I use my walks to write. I find that composing copy in my head while walking makes writing better copy much faster. But just letting your mind wander can produce creative solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. In 1889, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” Four recent studies have found that walking really does increase creativity. Whether it is outdoors or on a treadmill, walking "improves the generation of novel yet appropriate ideas, and the effect even extends to when we sit down to do creative work shortly after." So there. It's not just my imagination. Or maybe it is.

Where to walk? Why anywhere. That's the beauty of it. No gym membership required. No equipment needed. Just put on a pair of sneakers and take off around the block until your 30 minutes are up. You can walk the halls of area malls when the weather is an issue.

The Wellness Institute actually organizes walks for those who prefer company and need motivation. At Noon on Wednesdays, meet at the Visit Buffalo Niagara Visitor Center for a guided walk downtown from 12:10 to 12:40pm. 

Also at Noon on Wednesdays, head to Kaminsky Park at Roswell and walk around the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Bring some cash and a sack. There's a Farmers Market where you can pick up some locally-grown produce en route.

On Saturdays get to know our area parks and green spaces: Akron Falls Park on May 24, Ellicott Creek Park on June 4, Isle View Park on June 11, Como Lake Park on June 18, Chestnut Ridge Park on June 25. All walks start at 9:00am. 

You can also combine your desire to make a difference with your longing to lose weight. Just sign up for any of the dozens of walks to benefit a good cause. The Hospice Memorial Walk is this Sunday (May 22), and there are dozens of similar opportunities. Or choose an event that keeps you on your feet. The Parkside Tour of Homes is also this Sunday (May 22), and there are dozens of Garden Walks coming up in June and July, culminating in the amazing GardenWalk Buffalo on July 30 & 31. It's the largest in the nation, and one of the few Walks that is actually walkable, although I challenge you to try to see every one of the more than 400 participating gardens that grace Buffalo's West Side.

See how easy it is, and how much fun it can be? I may be more passionate about walking than your average Joe. Muscular dystrophy put my brother Tim in a wheelchair at the age of five. His short life taught me early on to appreciate mobility, to never take the ability to walk for granted.

Join me in my resolve to find those 30 minutes a day to take a walk. And I am going to try to ride my bike whenever possible, and always take the stairs.

Let's make Buffalo both a favorite and a fit city.