Reasons to be Riding
If you haven’t hopped on a bike during quarantine, you’re missing out. The good news is, it’s not too late! Here are a few reasons to encourage you to get that booty on a bike:
We all need a little stress relief right now.
It’s been ages and we’re still locked in our homes, with our roommate, parents, kid, or significant other driving us up the wall. Or, maybe you live alone and it’s the wall itself that has you ready to slam your head against it.
According to Elle Woods and the experts over at Heathline, “physical activity produces endorphins, a group of hormones that act as a natural pain reliever — making you feel happier.”
It gets that blood pumping and those legs jumping.
If you’re not the most physically fit person, or you’re recovering from an injury, it’s okay! Cycling is rather gentle on the body. It’s not hard on your knees and back, the way other workouts tend to be when you’re new it or do it slightly wrong. I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen many of days after an intense workout where it hurt to walk. Cycling has never done that to me, not even after 50-mile rides.
Don’t get it twisted, even though it doesn’t beat your body up, “biking is a top-notch cardio workout.” The doctors over at WebMD would argue that riding a bike is thee ideal cardio workout because it is low-impact while still building strong legs and improving heart health.
All the cool kids are doing it.
Okay… If your mental and physical health aren’t enough to convince you, maybe the idea of bettering your social health will entice you. Remember when you would try to persuade your parent into letting you do something and say how all the other kids are doing it? (And, if your mom was anything like mine, she’d say, “oh, if all the kids go jump off of a bridge, you gon’ go jump yo’ rabbit ass off the bridge too?!”). Well, here’s finally a time where everybody’s doing it is actually a good reason to give it a go.
When the country went into lockdown, bike riding soared! Everybody started riding bikes. The demand was so high that suppliers couldn’t keep up; bike shops sold out across the nation. I spoke with family from back home and friends from college, in other states, and they said finding a bike to buy was like trying to find Big Foot. Here in L.A., I kept in touch with the bike shop in Leimert Park, that I frequented multiple times a week prior to the outbreak of coronavirus, and they told me how business was booming like never before.
Get up on the saddle!
What other kind of riding is going to provide stress relief, increase your heart rate, be something that you have in common with your friends that you can chat about?! Actually… don’t answer that.. Just go get you a bike if you can, while you can, and get out there and ride!
