Cycling is healthy. It’s one of the best all round workouts. It’s also low impact, so therefore very good for your body. Lots of evidence suggests that cycling helps you look and feel 10 years younger. So, get on your bike! It is good for you and the environment.

Just in case the idea of this sort of outdoor fun doesn’t convince you, maybe the following facts will:
* Cycling 4 miles per day halves the risk of heart disease and regular cyclists enjoy fitness equivalent to being 10 years younger.
* Cycling produces no greenhouse gases, and requires less road space than motor vehicles, reducing the need for new roads.
* Cycling burns 300 calories an hour.
* On a bicycle you can travel up to 1037 kilometers on the energy equivalent of a single liter of petrol.
* Twenty bicycles can be parked in the same space taken up by one car.
* Three quarters of all personal journeys are less than 5 miles long – that’s half an hour on a bike.

Hey just look at me, I lost 5 stones getting back on my bike. I was “supporting” the local pub and had a company car, which is a great way to pile on the pounds, in my case stones. But after a job change I ditched the car and started to commute on my bicycle, 7 miles each way. Yes the first few months was hard work, got home at night and pretty much just fell asleep into my food. However after 2 years of riding I had lost my bulk and felt much better for it and can walk up a flight of stairs with out losing my breath.

So, what’s stopping you from cycling more?

Here are a few useful links:
BIKE for your LIFE, Birmingham University
Physical activity and health, sustrans.org.uk
Cycling – the healthy option, ctc.org.uk