It was a beautiful sunny, warm, spring weekend and it brought out the cyclists, walkers and hikers to enjoy and appreciate it.
People cycle for a variety of reasons including commuting to work, vacation touring, racing, the excitement of mountain biking, going to the store, and sometimes just for the pleasure of riding around the community and covering more ground than by walking.
Whatever the underlying reason, consider the wonderful health benefits of cycling!
In Portland, Ore., residents will have saved $64 million in health care costs by 2017 thanks to bicycling. The dollars spent on cycling infrastructure will have been more than offset by the health care savings.
Cycling is one of the best ways for people to achieve good health and fitness. Research shows that people who cycle regularly live longer than those who do not, and live healthier lives.
The health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks by a substantial margin.
Research estimates that benefit:cost ratios range from 20:1 to more than 77:1. Safe though cycling is by comparison with other common activities, it has been shown that cycling becomes safer when more people do it — for a doubling in cycle use, risk decreases by a third.
Many of the health benefits of cycling affect not only the individual but also the community and society as a whole. Many of the benefits, while not unique to cycling, can be achieved more easily, more widely and more effectively on a bicycle.
Cycling benefits the immune, muscular, and skeletal systems. It protects the joints as the weight of the body is supported by the bicycle. The cardiovascular and respiratory systems benefit from the training effect on a bicycle.
Regular cycling helps in maintaining a healthy body weight, and can also decrease mental stress.
So, if you have not done so already, consider dusting off your bike, getting it serviced and properly fitted, and be ready to head out on the trails and roads. Remember your helmet, your bright clothing, and that you need to obey the rules of the road just like a motor vehicle!
Margaret Harris is the president of the Comox Valley Cycling Coalition. Shifting Gears appears every fourth week.
