Cycling for Fitness & Fun

Remember when you were a kid, and you would leave your house on your bike in the morning and not come home until dinner? We rode our bikes all over town! From the creek to the Quick Stop for a cold drink and candy, then to the ball field for a pick up game. Our bicycles logged more miles than we could count. It was the form of transportation for most of our childhood. Not only did we get everywhere on our bikes, but we stayed in shape at the same time. There were fewer instances of obesity in children because the kids played outside and rode their bike to their friend’s house and to school. Before computers and video games entered the scene, the place to be was on your bike.

Now here you are, all grown up and looking for a way to stay (or get back) in shape. It’s not as easy now, with demands of job and family. We don’t have all day to play and the time we spend exercising needs to be effective. As we get our heart rate up and our pulse pumping, we slave it out in the gym or at home, in an effort to be fit. It’s hard work and it can even be grueling. Staying in shape is important. But what if you could capture that feeling of when you were a kid? Would it be an alternative worth choosing? You can have that same freedom and wonder, even now as an adult. There is still nothing like riding your bike, the wind in your face. Leaving cell phones and Blackberries behind as you take to the roadway…the bike path! You can get your heart rate up and your pulse pumping while you and your bike explore the city. Whether you have lived there all your life and can visit your old haunts or you live in a new city, finding new creeks and ball parks to bike past, it is the thrill of the ride. It is leaving the hustle and bustle of our routine and enjoying the great outdoors. It is getting fit outside the four walls of a gym, and leaving the lines for the weight room far behind. It’s clearing your head with no one talking to you, no one to respond to. Or putting in some earphones to a discman or ipod and listening to your favorite tunes.