Build Cycling Into Your Everyday Life

Cycling can be enjoyed by everyone, not just people looking to compete or find a method to get fit. Hopping on a bike and getting from A to B can be convenient and exciting, as well as easily done in your everyday life. Let’s explore the benefits of cycling every day… 

Regular Cycling 

We could write pages and pages on just the benefits of cycling, as there are so many ways cycling can improve your everyday life. Cycling can improve your mental wellbeing for one, with a study by the YMCA finding that individuals with a physically active lifestyle recorded a wellbeing score which was 32 per cent higher than people who were inactive. There are obviously many ways to exercise, but cycling stands out as it allows you to take part in physical exercise, get outdoors and explore fresh surroundings. 

Plus, you can choose to cycle in a group, with friends, or on your own. Graeme Obree, a former hour record holder, expanded on this aspect in particular by telling Cycling Weekly: “Getting out and riding will help [people suffering with depression] … Without cycling, I don’t know where I would be.” 

Of course, cycling is great for your body too as well as fighting depression and anxiety naturally. For instance, the activity promotes weight loss — between 400 and 1,000 calories can be burnt per hour depending on your level of intensity and your weight — and it also builds muscle, especially around the calves, hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps. 

You will find that your overall health profits too. Cycling has been found to reduce the risk of you developing cancer or heart disease, improve your lung health, allow you to enjoy better sleep, and increase your brain power. It’s not just your health and wellbeing that will see improvements if you cycle more regularly either. Pedaling to and from a destination can actually take a shorter amount of time than completing the commute in a vehicle, depending on the distance and the level of traffic encountered of course. 

Cycling is also a wonderful way to save those precious pennies too. Cycle scheme imagined a scenario back in 2011 whereby a cyclist travelled for five miles to work every day and then another five miles to get back home. Covering a 48-week year — holidays were taken out of the equation — the organization found that 2,400 miles will be covered, which would account for around £320 in fuel costs if a vehicle was used to travel the distance. That sum was based on the average cost of fuel during 2011; just imagine the savings today seeing as though fuel prices have continued to skyrocket over the past decade. 

Cycling For Your Daily Commute 

Could cycling to work be an option for you in 2023? Cycling Weekly has some handy tips about how to commute to work using a bicycle. 

A road bike is definitely the one to look at for communing, as it can handle all kinds of weather. Consider fitting your bike with mudguards too — no one wants to arrive at the office with mud and muck covering their clothes — as well as wide tires which will work to spread the load, improve comfort levels, and provide enhanced grip during wet weather. Also, while you are shopping for your cycling gear, take note that it’s a legal requirement for you to have a white front light and red rear light, both in working order, on your bike after dusk and before dawn. It’s advised that you use these lights throughout the day too though, as they’ll improve your visibility. You may also want to buy a backpack that you can fill with your essential work items and then carry over your shoulders while you cycle, or a pannier rack for your bike if you often carry a lot of stuff during a commute. 

With your bike and gear sorted, the next thing you need is confidence. To help, Cycling Weekly advises: “Cyclists hugging the curb often encourages drivers to pass closely, which will only increase any nervousness that caused you to do so in the first place — so avoid this and keep a safe distance that affords you room to swerve around a pot hole should you need to. 

“When approaching junctions during biking, check behind you and move into the center of the lane when it’s safe to do so — this prevents anyone from overtaking or undertaking when it’s not safe to do so.” 

Be sure to be able to look behind you when riding your bike confidently. Cycling one-handed is another essential skill, as there will be times when you need to release one hand from the bike’s handlebars to indicate and tell other road users that you’re about to make a turn. 

A high-quality bike lock is so important too. It is recommended that you apply one lock to the frame of the bike and then a cable lock to the wheels if they are attached by quick-release skewers. On the topic of security, try and leave your bike in a location that is monitored by CCTV too. 

Don’t forget that you’re heading to work too! Keep a pair of appropriate work shoes at work which you can quickly slip into once you’ve arrived, and pack some dry shampoo and wet wipes to look the part if your workplace doesn’t have its own shower. 

Better Biking - Cycling Conclusion

With the many benefits on offer, no doubt you will love cycling to work! Before you know it, you might even be casting a glance at mountain bikes to take your new passion further afield! 

I hope you enjoyed this blog post about how to build cycling into your everyday life with ease and on a frugal budget.

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