5 Reasons and a Melody to Take up Cycling!

5 Reasons and a Melody to Take Up Cycling

“I’ve been framed, I’m in the bike game, I’m Mikill Pane, Catch me racing through the city, Causing havoc in the cycle lane, I ride this silver charge plug ten, And I’m a mad man, Mum says “Wear a helmet” or I’m gonna need a CAT scan”

Now, unless you’re plugged into the British hip-hop scene, I am sure you haven’t the foggiest what I am drivelling on about and/or if I have quite possibly misplaced my marbles. Understandable on the first account, wrong on the second. I am citing one of my greatest heroes, Justin Uzomba, or better known as Mikill Pane. A weird hero to have you may say? Well as the cliche goes, not all heroes wear capes, but this hero does ride a bike.

I’d be lying if I said Mr Pane inspired me to take up cycling, I have always enjoyed it, and I’ll be the first to admit, I am quite a brass cyclist.

However, Mikill Pane’s music does feature heavily on my 'Tour de France' playlist - and here is a link to a song of his, you guessed it, all about cycling!

But I’m here to tell you about the benefits of cycling, picking my top 5 reasons as to why you should chuck on your spandex and get onto a saddle.

1. You live longer!

According to King’s College London, who conducted a study on over 2,400 identical twins on the benefits of exercise, found that those who rode a bike for 45 minutes, three times a week, were a staggering nine ‘biological’ years younger than their other half.

2. Beat illness and cycle away from the big C

According to the experts’, cardiovascular exercise, and especially cycling, is fantastic at warding off illness as well as cancer in particular.

Research from our Swedish friends shows that 30 minutes of exercise a day on a bicycle showed that men and women were 50% less likely to develop cancer than those who didn’t. Furthermore, people who cycle the same amount of time are half as likely to take sick days compared to those who sit on a sofa and not a saddle.

3. Turn that frown upside down

GP’s have been prescribing physical exercise therapy to treat those suffering from depression four-fold over the last 3 years. That is because exercise is so widely recognised as a feel-good endorphin-releasing method. Peddling away for half an hour is guaranteed to make you feel better.

4. Stop the ice caps melting!

It is obviously cheaper than putting a full tank in your car, as well three times as fast as walking. It is obvious why cycling is so eco- and wallet-friendly!

5. Avoid pollution

One could think that trailing behind traffic, cyclists would wolf down more fumes than someone in their car or on public transport. This isn’t the case according to Imperial College London. Their studies found out that drivers and passengers in cars, buses and taxis consumed unknowingly more pollution than cyclists and pedestrians. However, breathing harder while cycling warrants proper protection against fumes and other pollution. We recommend wearing a mask when cycling in busy city centres.