Riding a Bike is Fun!
(And Good for your Health)

Get On Your Bike and Ride!

Getting on a bicycle and going out for a ride will put a smile on your face no matter what your age. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. That ride can also be tailored to your specific fitness needs while at the same time being an enjoyable recreational activity. But the best part about going for that ride is that it comes with a ton of health benefits.

Anyone looking for something fun to do and at the same time increase their physical activity and generate some great health benefits should go for a bike ride. Bicycling is relatively easy to do and doesn’t require a lot of specialized equipment or a high level of physical skill. Just get yourself a bicycle in good working order, some comfortable clothing and shoes, and off you go! The best way to get started is to just get on and take a ride around the block. My recommendation to beginner cyclists is to start slowly with shorter distances. Each time you go out you can add miles and try to increase your average speed. You should start out easy and then you can take it up from there when you are ready.

Bicycling is a great low impact work out. Unlike many other physical activities, bicycling is very easy on the body. It will cause less strain and damage to joints than most other forms of exercise. It is also mainly an aerobic activity, which means your heart, blood vessels, and lungs all get a work out. It improves stamina. If you are recovering from an injury you can do it at a very low intensity to begin with. It is also a great muscle work out, increasing flexibility and overall muscle strength.   Cycling uses all major muscle groups as you pedal.

Some of the health benefits of bicycling, according to the Better Health Channel, Victoria, Australia, include:

• Increased cardiovascular fitness
• Improved joint mobility
• Increased muscle strength and flexibility
• Decreased stress levels
• Improved posture and coordination
• Decreased body fat levels
• Strengthened bones
• Prevention or management of disease
• Reduced anxiety and depression

And that is not even a complete list.

Bicycling is an easy activity to enjoy and to start getting the above results immediately. It is a unique work out that allows you the convenience to manage/create the type of work out you want. As your fitness level improves you can start increasing distances and increasing your average speed, creating a more demanding physical work out. You can design your work out for exactly your level of fitness and how you feel that day. And it can grow with you. You can continually add miles and more challenging (hilly) terrain to your route and you can increase your pace on any given route.

I often like to do shorter and faster paced routes during the week and longer endurance rides on the weekends. It’s also great to get out with friends on different scenic trails in our area and/or combine a ride with stops at a coffee shop or other favorite eatery. While you are out burning those calories food stops are a welcome respite.

You can also consider using an indoor trainer for those cold or rainy days when you can’t get outside. I will have to admit the indoor trainer can be mind-numbing but you are still generating low impact cardio work that burns those calories and removes that excess body fat.

So now, armed with all those health benefits you can go out and accrue them to your body while at the same time enjoying the outdoors and cruising down those hills with the wind in your face!

At Forest Lake Cycle & Skate we sell bikes, repair bikes and rent bikes. We can help you get started or take your bicycling to the next level. We can also share with you some good places to ride in our local area and how to get the most out of your bicycling experiences. We have weekly shop rides and a bulletin board full of organized ride information and local trail maps. We even have basic bicycle repair and maintenance classes. We want you to….

Enjoy the Ride!

Jeff Lichtscheidl