5 reasons why you should start road riding again
I completely understand that it’s really easy to lose your cycling mojo and much harder to get it back, but I’m here to plead to all lapsed road riding women and encourage you to reconsider. I love road cycling so much that my mission in life is to encourage as many women as possible to join me. Here are my top reasons that I ride. So please reconsider and dust your bike off and get back out there.
It’s a great form of exercise
As well as being a cycling enthusiast, I’m also an exercise evangelist. I believe that exercise is the key to a healthy, happy life. And cycling is by far my favourite form of exercise.
I also run (or rather jog very slowly), go to the gym once a week, and enjoy the occasional long walk or very occasional swim. But all of these are much harder than cycling. When you run there are no gears that you can change when you go up a hill, it’s all you!
Cycling is gentle on your joints (unless you fall off!!), but can still provide an excellent workout, particularly if you push yourself and include some hill climbing which is unavoidable if you live in a city like Sydney.
Meet heaps of new people
I’ve met hundreds of new people since I took up cycling 15 years ago, and many of them live nearby. From those hundreds, I’ve also made dozens of friendships, both women and men.
But it’s not about the number of people I have met but the depth of those friendships that I’ve made and the amazing experiences we’ve shared. It has also meant that I’ve met lots of local people, something I rarely did before I joined the local cycling groups.
Learn something new
I’m a huge fan of lifelong learning, and when you take up cycling there is plenty to learn. I naively thought there wasn’t much to it when I started riding a road bike. I was proved completely wrong.
I’ve not only learnt about the mechanics of the equipment, but I’ve also learnt heaps about riding technique. And I never stop learning.
Bolster your confidence
Becoming a confident cyclist has also had a knock-on effect to the rest of my life. Mastering road cycling has made me a more confident person. I spent my pre-cycling life believing I was pretty hopeless at all physical activities, and taking up riding has made me realise that was wrong.
I’m still not an athletic person and never will be, but I’m more confident about my physical ability which has made me a more confident human.
Improve your overall health
Being fit contributes to your overall health. My immune system is stronger than it’s ever been. I rarely get sick, apart from the occasional head cold.
I’m also able to eat and drink yummy foods without putting on weight because I exercise enough to balance things out.
Riding a bike also contributes to my mental health. It’s not just the physical boost that I receive from riding, but the social interaction and all the points I mentioned above. It’s a win, win, win.
My advice is to get back on your bike if you’re a lapsed woman road cyclist. You’ll thank me for it.