A five-mile/30 minute bike ride burns about 180 calories; so if you do the Cotteridge-Victoria Square journey both ways (an hour altogether) you will burn 360 calories – the equivalent of half a portion of spaghetti bolognese or toad in the hole...If you want those calories in junk food terms, that's more than a McDonald's cheeseburger (300) and almost as much as their medium French fries (380). Other more sustainable meals are better for you and the planet, of course, so “I'm lovin' it” could be your new phrase for cycling and getting fit?!
Cycling also gives you more energy, helps improve the quality of your sleep, keeps your weight stable, and delays aging.
By joining one of our bike trains you could be making a step towards regaining your sense of well-being and youthfulness. If you want to be more emotionally stable, less stressed, and – paradoxically – more rested, you could do worse than joining a bike train from one of the five locations (Cotteridge, Quinton, Banners Gate, Cox Moors Woods, Fox Hollies) on September 22nd. Why not try for a day and see how you feel afterwards? You might be pleasantly surprised at how well you sleep that night and how satisfied you feel the next day!
Doing this may give you a taste for exercising on a regular basis – experts in The Lancet say that 15 minutes of daily exercise is the ‘bare minimum for health’. A Dutch study has also shown that people who cycle have fewer sick days: “The more often people cycle to work and the longer the distance travelled, the less they report sick.”
Gergana Manassieva
