On or off the road, around town or on extended tours, bicycling offers unique profiles of fitness and adventure.
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Some say that staying motivated to exercise is all about finding the activity that is right for you. If you’re still looking for an exercise that flutters your pulse, you might want to take a bicycle for a test drive.
There are several models from which to choose:
· A road bike with its puny tires, tall frame and low-slung handlebars, urging you to hunch forward and make yourself part of the machine. It’s an exhilarating experience to feel the wind whistling past you as you sprint down a country road at 20 miles an hour.
· A mountain bike with its fat tires and chunky, durable frame, ready to take you on a perilous ride through mountain trails or woods. Bouncing off a log or churning through a stream is all part of the journey.
· A city bike with fenders, chain guard, handlebar basket and rear-fender carrier–a practical machine to get you quickly from place to place without worrying about having to find a parking space.
· Or a hybrid touring bike that combines the carrier and durable frame with lean tires, gears and low-slung handlebars for more efficient riding.
Each cycle offers its own profile of fitness and adventure.
Road Biking is recognized as an excellent way to build cardiovascular fitness. With steady uphill climbs, you are sure to develop powerful muscles in your thighs and calves, but the major beneficiary is your heart. With training, it learns to deliver strong, steady beats and keep blood flowing efficiently to muscles, which develop the capacity to use fuel efficiently and keep the body lean and mean.
Bikers say it’s easy to become hooked as you feel the steady cadence of your pedaling propelling you along the road. As the miles pass, you get lulled into the rhythm, listening to your body and feeling the wind brush gently past your cheeks.
Off-road biking on a mountain bike offers a more adventurous experience and a full body workout. Compared to the steady state cadence of road biking, off-road cycling typically involves stopping, starting and frequent bouts of high-energy output–bounding up a hill or churning through a muddy area. You know you’re fit when you can recover from these rather quickly and move on.
Biking on rugged mountain trails is the ultimate adventure sport, but you can also ride on wooded trails that are relatively flat and obstacle-free. Even so, you have to stay alert for bumps, potholes, rocks or crevices. The bike is built to withstand this kind of punishment, and the rider has to have upper body strength, balance, coordination and quick judgment to stay aboard.
Tour biking offers yet another experience–slower paced, steady state cycling that builds endurance and burns calories. With a partner or a small group, it’s a great way to explore the world close-up–cycling the country roads of Iowa, taking a fall color tour of Michigan or touring the Lake Country of England, stopping at bed and breakfast spots along the way.
Tour biking offers a way to explore the world–cycling the country roads of Iowa or taking a fall color tour of New England.
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City biking speaks for itself. It’s a way to get from place to place the old-fashioned way. Kids in this country used to bike to school every day; adults in Europe often use a bicycle as their primary means of transportation.
Depending on how far and how fast you ride, city biking may or may not make you into a world class athlete, but it will help you stay healthy and relatively trim. You’ll also save some money on gas and parking.
A Finnish study of persons who cycled to work and others who walked found that both groups lowered their cholesterol and made significant improvements in aerobic capacity, but the gains of the cyclists were greater.
Cyclists are less vulnerable than runners to overuse injuries but are at risk of injuries from falls and collisions with automobiles.
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Whatever kind of biking you do, it’s important to start at a sensible level of effort and build up gradually. At least three or four workouts a week–at varying intensity levels–are necessary to build and maintain fitness.
Hazards of a Different Sort
Cyclists are generally less vulnerable to the overuse injuries–shin splits, runner’s knee, stress fractures–that plague runners and even walkers. Because the activity is basically non-weight-bearing, however, it confers little benefit in terms of maintaining and building bone density.
The greatest hazards come from falls, collisions with automobiles and the jarring of the lower body against the seat.
Off-road biking is associated with a relatively high rate of injuries; with extreme biking on rugged mountain trails, these can include not only broken bones but ruptured organs and head and neck injuries.
One study of off-road cycle accidents found that the majority of injuries were minor–in part because 90 percent of cyclists in this study were wearing helmets.
A helmet is, without question, a crucial item of safety. It should meet safety standards of the government and the Snell Foundation and fit snugly, with less than two finger widths between the helmet and the eyebrows. Reflective clothing should be worn so that the cyclist is clearly visible to motorists, and bikes should be equipped with reflectors, lights and a warning horn or bell.
One study of male mountain bikers riding 3,000 miles or more a year found that 90 percent had scrotal abnormalities, lower sperm count and decreased sperm motility. For all types of cycles, male riders have a high incidence of erectile dysfunction (about double that of non-cyclists) and female riders frequently develop enlargement of the vulva on one side (perhaps related to chronic inflammation). When choosing a bicycle, special attention should be paid to suspension, shock absorption and the style and shape of the seat.
If you’re riding inside, a recumbent bike may be a good choice. The tractor-style seat takes pressure away from the perineum, the area between the genitals and the anus. The cycling motion itself is good for circulation in the legs and pelvis and should theoretically improve sexual function.
As a way of developing cardiovascular fitness, a survey by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness rated cycling second only to running. Unlike running, biking puts minimal stress and impact on joints such as the knees, and runners nursing injuries often turn to cycling to maintain their fitness. The confirmed bicyclist, of course, needs no sales pitch.
REFERENCES:
Greg Atkinson, et al, “Science and Cycling: Current Knowledge and Future Direction for Research,” Journal of Sports Sciences, September, 2003.
Luc Bayens, et al, “Bicyclist’s Vulva: Observational Study,” British Medical Journal, July 20, 2002.
Samena Chaudhry, “Mountain Biking Can Be Dangerous,” Student BMJ, July, 2001.
Tabatha Elliott, “Maximize Fat Loss on Your Feet,” Muscle & Fitness, October, 2003.
Joshua Fawcett, “Nature’s Roller Coaster: The Thrills and Spills of Mountain Biking,” American Fitness, July-August, 1996.
Ferdinand Frauscher, Andrea Klauser, Alfred Hobisch, Leo Pallwein and Arnulf Stenzl, “Subclinical Microtraumatisation of the Scrotal Contents in Extreme Mountain Biking,” The Lancet, October 21, 2000.
Carolyn J. Gard, “Biking for All-Around Fitness and Fun,” Current Health 2, April-May, 2002.
Janice S. Hayes, Bobette Henslee and Jean Ferber, “Bicycle Injury Prevention and Safety in Senior Riders,” Journal of Trauma Nursing, July-September, 2003.
Sarah J. Henry, “Take a Ride in the Woods,” Prevention, April, 1998.
D. Humphries, “Unilateral Vulval Hypertrophy in Competitive Female Cyclists,” British Journal of Sports Medicine, December, 2002.
Stephen Jermanok, “Save Your Brain: Half of all Bicyclists Risk Injury and Even Death By Riding without a Helmet. Don’t Become a Statistic,” Boys’ Life, February, 2004.
Kate Johnson, “Erectile Dysfunction Rates Lower in Older Bicyclists (Very High in Younger Ones),” Family Practice News, November 15, 2002.
Chris Lawson, “Steel Horse, Iron Heart,” Men’s Health, June, 2003.
G. Neumayer, et al, “Heart Rate Response to Ultraendurance Cycling,” British Journal of Sports Medicine, February, 2003.
Patrice G.W. Norton, “Extreme Mountain Biking May Unseat Male Fertility,” Internal Medicine News, February 1, 2003.
“Research Briefs: Cycling Peril for Sexual Function,” GP June 23, 2003.
Ferderick P. Rivara, Diane C. Thompsn, Robert S. Thompson and Viviana Rebolledo, “Injuries Involving Off-Road Cycling,” Journal of Family Practice, May, 1997.
Selene Yeager, “Ride It Off,” Men’s Health, September, 1999.
