CYCLING is a great way to get and stay fit. Here are 15 things you should know about cycling and why it is such a good form of exercise to make you fit and feel great.
1. Health professionals recommend that we do 30 minutes of exercise at least five times a week. Cycling is a really good way to do this. It is an easy way to get fit and stay fit. Just 30 minutes of cycling each day will reduce the risk of heart disease by half, the single most-common cause of death. Cycling exercises the heart without putting a strain on it and stimulates good blood circulation. It is estimated that if one third of all short car journeys were made on bike, heart disease rates would fall by between 5 and 10 per cent.
2. Cycling is not just for young people - anyone can get on a bike and cycle. It is for everyone, young or old, the handicapped, and those who are perfectly healthy. It can be relaxing, too - that is if you are not going uphill or pedaling into a very strong wind.
3. Cycling is also great for the environment. If you cycle for half-an-hour each day instead of driving you'll save approximately 150 to 200kg of carbon dioxide emissions over the year. Cycling is a fantastic and environmentally-friendly way to discover the countryside.
In towns and cities with traffic congestion, cycling can turn out to be twice as fast as driving. And you don't need to find an expensive parking place. Ten bikes can be parked in the space of one car. In fact, with cycling you burn calories and not carbon. Cycling is clearly the least polluting way of travelling distances. It is estimated that 2kg of carbon are saved for every short journey made on a bike instead of the car. Radical new bicycle designs may mean that more and more people will use them as their primary form of transportation.
4. Riding a bike is a low impact activity, meaning it is one of the safest ways to exercise without putting too much strain on your muscles and joints. For people new to exercise, riding a bike will let them get fit without undue physical strain. Cycling is a non-pharmacological method of lowering blood pressure.
5. Cycling can be a powerful calorie burner. Pedaling at a gentle 12 miles per hour on a flat road uses 450 kcal per hour on average. It is an aerobic activity, except when going uphill. This means if you keep at or below lactate level you will be burning fat and not just carbohydrate. Long, steady, just under lactose-level cycling will therefore burn away your excess fat. But don't overdo it; if you burn off too much fat you'll begin to lose muscle, which is not what you want to do as a cyclist.
6. Riding a bike is cheaper than going to the gymnasium in order to keep fit. It is participated by well over a hundred million people around the world.
7. As a sport, cycling is challenging, but that is best left for the fittest and keenest of cyclists. Road racing is a popular global sport that is much televised these days. The Italian Giro, the Tour de France, and the Spanish Vuelta are the three main challenging professional events held annually.
Indoor cycling events held in velodromes are becoming more and more popular with spectators, especially during the Olympics. Mountain biking, too, is becoming more and more popular. Some cyclists are convinced that the top mountain bikers are more fitter than the top road racers.
8. On average, cyclists live two years longer than people who don't ride a bike. In fact, it is believed by health professionals that regular cyclists in their 30's and over are as fit as people 10 years younger.
9. Cycling is great for those who only want to cycle for relatively short distances on flat terrain in good weather. This is why it is ideal for kids to keep fit by cycling to school instead of being driven there by car or bus. Compared with the cars used in the school-run, cycling is non-polluting and energy efficient. For kids, it is healthy and fun. It is a great antidote for childhood obesity.
10. For the majority of people, cycling is a stress-free way of keeping physically active. It can easily be incorporated into a daily routine. It is more enjoyable than stressful driving, even over longer distances. Any type of regular exercise is beneficial and cycling is perhaps the best as fewer injuries occur as a result of it - unless you fall off! Always wear a helmet.
11. Regular cycling encourages other healthy behaviour. It stops people from smoking and helps to cut down on bad drinking and eating habits. Cyclists that return from a long ride feel great satisfaction and talk to their friends about it.
12. Cycling not only tones your legs, it is great for your posterior, too. The only downside to cycling is that it can be detrimental to the bones of keen cyclists. They may have significantly lower bone density in their spines compared to those who do a greater variety of exercise. Cycling is a low-impact exercise, so it is good for those with vulnerable joints. But it does not have the weight-bearing impact of activities like aerobics, which helps to build strong bones. Remedy: perform some impact exercises if you cycle a lot and do no other form of exercise.
13. Cycling can be exhilarating, giving you the feeling of speed and freedom. If you go to the gym you could cycle there and back as a warm up and warm down exercise. These days half of all adults do no exercise. One third of adults are clinically obese. Cycling is therefore the perfect way for them to start to get on the long road to losing their excess weight and becoming fit.
Riding a bike improves muscular fitness and blood circulation and forms a valuable part of a weight loss programme. Cycling also keeps weight under control. Cycling for thirty minutes every day, five times a week, at lactose level increases life expectancy, controls weight, reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and gives you zest to your life. Studies show that cycling to work gives a 3 to 7 per cent increase in cardiovascular fitness and a 3 per cent fall in body weight over time. It also reduces cholesterol levels by 5 per cent.
If you undertake physical activity like cycling, you can enjoy a more varied diet without increasing your body weight. Cycling also raises the speed of your metabolism for hours afterward, so your body continues to burn fat and calories for hours after the exercise.
14. It is thought that cycling can help people suffering from depression. Endorphins released into the body from the brain while cycling are thought to be as beneficial as drug therapy for mild to moderate cases of the disease.
15. The unique thing about cycling is how it integrates exercise, travel, and a real sense of well-being.
Your ultimate fitness is within reach. Getting fit is not a pipe dream or for those with the perfect genetic make up. If you cycle your way to fitness you will see a new person staring back at you in the mirror.
Vic George has put together a complementary report on cycling and burning fat that will help you solve your weight problem permanently. To access it instantly please visit: http://www.perfect-health-guide.com/guide-to-losing-fat.html
Ok so we have done it again!! Entered the Magical Untamed ABSA Cape Epic for 2010 in South AFrica. Team Susan Deacon Properties have made our entry today and now looking forward to 2010. Some training and racing to get us in top shape and form for next year's race. My Team mate (Jason Eldridge) also now an Amabubezi member after finishing his 3rd one and I going for my 6th one next year will keep you posted on our preperation and training for next year. We really start more focussed training December, but going to do plenty of racing towards the end of the year. That is how my team mate likes it. Racing and going hard.
Our first race together as team after the 2009 Cape Epic will be the Transbaviaans 24 hour race from Willowmore to Jeffreys Bay in the Eatern Cape, South Africa. 230km in one day. The worlds longest 1 day mountain bike race.
http://www.ecobound.co.za/The%20Trans%20Baviaans%2024%20hour%20Mountain%20Bike%20Marathon.htm
I will do an update towards the Transbaviaans race in 2 weeks time again.
Today was an awesome day. One of many firsts, beautiful scenery and just an overall great day.
We started off the day with breakfast served at 7am by the Salvation Army in a pkg lot surrounded by the Alaska mtns... can the day start much better than that?
We headed to the race start after bfast which was right underneath a glacier on the mountain side. I was set to start my time trial at 9:10. This was my fist time trial and I was a bit nervous moving up to the start line. I was starting out first for the women so I had no one to catch but that was OK. I was on my own until about mile 6 when the women kneelers pased me at a pretty speedy pace. Like I said before, they are a bit out of our league... Katz had started a minute behind me and she passed me right before the turn around point at mile 7. I kept her in my sight and managaed to catch back up and pass her at about mile 10. I held her off until the end but I didn't make up the minute I had started ahead of her. So the final results were Katz, 3rd and Me, 4th. I had come in 18 seconds slower than her. The 1st and 2nd place kneeling riders were 9 and 12 minutes ahead of us. So, yeah, they are speedy. The 5th woman came in a few minutes behind Katz and I so we were holding a retty respectable 3rd and 4th palce. And to add to the course, in true Alaska style we saw a coyote on the course. No bears yet..
We got a quick break for lunch and a little rest before we headed into downtown Seward for the criterium. Like the time trial, this was my first criterium. It was a .67 loop that you do 20 times but we finished when the fastest rider in our group finished. The top 3 people in each category get bonus seconds, 1st was 30 sec, 2nd was 20 sec and 3rd, 10 sec. The clock started and the two kneelers immediately took off leaving us again to vie for 3rd, 4th and 5th. The course was a bit hilly with a few good turns in there and I was feeling pretty good. I was having a blast and ended up in 3rd gaining 10 bonus seconds. The 4th and 5th place riders got no bonus. So, this morning I was 18 seconds behind Katz but since I came in 3rd and her 4th, I am now only 8 seconds behind her. So, the end of the day's results are Katz, 3rd and me 4th, behind by 8 seconds. Its going to be a good race between Katz and I. We are both very competitive people and as much as we want to win on the course, we will both be genuinely happy if the other wins. After all, out goal is to have fun and to finish. So far so good. Plus, we have some pretty sweet looking jerseys. We had some made for the race and love them.
After the criterium we had dinner in the town of Seward and met some of the locals. A town of 3000 located right on the ocean, surrounded by mountains. You can't beat the scenery. The weather was pretty decent all day. A bit wet as it's supposed to be all week but luckily it didn't pour on us, just a little sprinkling and wet roads. Let's hope for no worse tomorrow.
Each of us riders are assigned to a support vehicle. Katz and I were given a team name of Team Diva with our driver Yasuka from Japan. Yasuka doesn't speak much english and we were a bit hesitant at first as she drives us everywhere, helps with our stuff, the course, etc.. and the language barrier was a slight issue. However, she has grown on us and now we LOVE her. She helps us with everything and anything and we totally lucked out with her. We all make quite the team.
We just got back from our nightly 30 min massage. Yes, we learned today that there are massage therapists with us along the trip to work on us every night. Boy were we pumped. So to finish the night off, Katz and I went and got outdoor massages, under a canopy, listening to bongo drums, in Alaska. Oh, what a day.
Tomorrow we head to Hope, AK for a 36 mile road race. There is definate climbing but it's not too too bad. If anything today was a bit of a wake up call that this week is going to be a toughy as today was supposedly the easy day.
Time for a shower, then to bed. Good Night.
I haven't found many things that are better in life than an opportunity to get out on the bike with one or more of my kids. Today Connor and I went for a spin on the mountain bikes - and yes, that's a full CTS kit in kids sizes.
I remember in detail when I first knew that I wanted to race bicycles. I was watching the one day Paris to Roubaix race A.K.A. "The hell of the north". It still stands today as probably the single most grueling and dangerous one day races of the year. There is rain, mud, cobblestone streets and crashes and as crazy as it sounds I was hooked. That same year I was introduced to the Tour De France and American rider, Greg LeMond. I watched in amazement as Greg battled the likes of Benard Hinault and Laurent Fignon and when he finally won in 1986 he was the first American to do so and I was so proud. I rode that day, rode hard and long with dreams of being in that position one day.
I never reached the pinnacle of the sport but I did have some success here in southern California as a Junior rider. Criteriums and road races filled my summer weekends. In the winter it was mountain biking so that I could maintain base fitness levels. My father, god rest his soul, loved when I had a race. He would look at the race calendar and find races that were 2 even 3 day stage races just so we could embark on road trips and stay in hotels. He was my one man support vehicle. I know if Dad were here today he would be right behind me in the car yelling words of support out the window as I strain to climb a hill or push myself to the limit on a straight away. Sadly he is not here and sadly my time in the saddle was cut short in 1990 when I was involved in a serious crash. During one of my favorite races at a criterium course called "the Ziggurat" some unattached barney crossed my front wheel and down I went at 35 MPH and away he went without ever realizing he had just ended my cycling career. Or so I thought.
If you read my profile it states "I am 38 years old and recently re-entered the world of competitive cycling. It is a sport that I had some success in as a young man however after a serious crash in 1990 I hung up the bike even though the passion for the sport was still there.
In the last couple of years that love was too strong to ignore and I decided that I was mentally prepared to start training again. My loving wife, 2 daughters, 16 and 5 support my decision and understand both the training involved and inherent dangers of the sport. I love and adore them.
The passion or dare I say addiction for racing is back and I am loving it. This is gonna be a fun ride".
So I hope you enjoy this blog, as I attempt to reclaim the form I once had and the position I once fought for, top of the podium. Its gonna be a fun ride.
- Brian
A great trip to Cape Town, South Africa to participate in the Cape Argus / Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour 2009. This is the largest timed bike race in the world, with nearly 40,000 riders taking part. This year, a southeastern wind rolled in and made it the toughest tour in the event's 30-year history. The wind got up to 65 km/h during the race, and slowed times dramatically, especially during the first half, which was all into the wind. On the way back, the wind was coming down the side of the mountain and slowing what should have been 60+ km/h rides downhill into hard pedalling to maintain 25 km/h. A fantasically organized and run event. We are already planning for next year's trip, with the race on March 14, 2010.
A great trip to Cape Town, South Africa to participate in the Cape Argus / Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour 2009. This is the largest timed bike race in the world, with nearly 40,000 riders taking part. This year, a southeastern wind rolled in and made it the toughest tour in the event's 30-year history. The wind got up to 65 km/h during the race, and slowed times dramatically, especially during the first half, which was all into the wind. On the way back, the wind was coming down the side of the mountain and slowing what should have been 60+ km/h rides downhill into hard pedalling to maintain 25 km/h. A fantasically organized and run event. We are already planning for next year's trip, with the race on March 14, 2010.
A great trip to Cape Town, South Africa to participate in the Cape Argus / Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour 2009. This is the largest timed bike race in the world, with nearly 40,000 riders taking part. This year, a southeastern wind rolled in and made it the toughest tour in the event's 30-year history. The wind got up to 65 km/h during the race, and slowed times dramatically, especially during the first half, which was all into the wind. On the way back, the wind was coming down the side of the mountain and slowing what should have been 60+ km/h rides downhill into hard pedalling to maintain 25 km/h. A fantasically organized and run event. We are already planning for next year's trip, with the race on March 14, 2010.
