Cycling make you live longer

[presta]

I agree about cycling helping with depression

It doesn't really make any difference whether your treatment of preference is walking, cycling, alcohol or drugs, the problem is the risk of overdose.

Walking is also fine - but I like the distance I can go cycling - gives me more sense of freedom!

When I was forced to switch from walking to cycling I never really escaped the feeling that I'm not seeing anything that I couldn't see by car. Yes, I know you can ride off-road, but that's just making an easy job hard, on rough ground it's far less effort on foot.

For some reason I really enjoy hilly and mountain routes for cycling as opposed to boring flat routes 🤷‍♀️

You can judge the merit of the terrain by the number of contours on the map, I just made a beeline for the same places I used to walk, like the Lake District etc. It's hard work, but you get out what you put in.

In hilly areas the benefit of cycling over walking is pretty dubious even on tarmac. Firstly, roads go over ridges, not along them, so when you get to the top of a climb you just throw away all your height racing down the other side of the pass. No walker in their right mind does that, once you've gained a lot of altitude you hang on to it, and follow the ridge for as long as possible. The other problem is that you get more rest time walking. If I walk up a hill at 3mph, then down again at 3 mph, that's 50% hard labour and 50% recovery, but if I cycle up at 3mph, and down at 30mph, that's 91% hard labour and 9% recovery. The fast descents on a bike just throw away altitude quicker, and get you to the next climb quicker.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I find with cycling I am far more aware of the places around me than in a car

partly through being in the open air rather than a tin box - which means you can hear better and see all round better
you are also higher up than in my car
and partly through going slower so I don;t pass things as quickly

 

[oldwheels]

Cycling is a great form of exercise and I am really thankful I returned to it after a gap of nearly 40 years when I retired and when my age-worn knees and lower back had finally stopped me running and playing squash or tennis. It has made a huge difference to my life both in terms of physical and mental health, but tbh if I could still run or play those sports I would just have the one bike and use it occasionally for local transport.

Cycling is great, but it has its limitations and needs to be supplemented by resistance exercise for the upper body and some sort of exercise like regular walking or jogging to strengthen the bones.

I was mainly a sprinter in my running days but now I find it difficult to walk far less run so cycling is the only realistic exercise I can manage.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I have been ery lacking in motication to go out on my bike recently

This thread encouraged my to "just do it" today

Ok I missed the first 2 sets of the tennis - but it was worth it

so thanks for that!

 

[Lone Wolf]

I have been ery lacking in motication to go out on my bike recently

This thread encouraged my to "just do it" today

Ok I missed the first 2 sets of the tennis - but it was worth it

so thanks for that!

If I lack motivation I watch some Tour de France Marco Pantani on the Alpe d’Huez or or in the Pyrenees or something similar.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

If I lack motivation I watch some Tour de France Marco Pantani on the Alpe d’Huez or or in the Pyrenees or something similar.

That just makes me feel worse!!!