Cycling for good health
Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit
3rd June is celebrated as the World Bicycle Day. It is designated as an official United Nations day to spread consciousness about the benefits of using the bicycle in order to promote health, better environment and sustainable development by bringing people together for a common cause.
The idea behind World Bicycle Day is to recognize the versatility and uniqueness of the bicycle, as well as its reliability and sustainability as a mode of transportation. We all are aware that the bicycle is a mode of transport that is affordable, environment friendly, reliable and is an uncomplicated sustainable means of transport.
History of Cycling
Once the first bicycles were made, people wanted to know how fast they could go. In 1817, a German named Baron Carl von Drais made one of the first bicycles called the running machine. This machine allowed people to move around with a faster speed and an increased range.
Bicycles are traditionally thought of as the transport of choice for students and people who cannot afford a car. However, bicycles are fast becoming “the new golf” for the wealthy. Unfortunately, many people think bicycles are for kids and often overlook the positive physical and psychological health benefits of cycling.
For a long time now, the bicycle has been recognised as a sustainable mode of transportation that is simple, affordable, reliable, clean, and enhances urban mobility and access.
Cycling has been proved to be one of the most effective exercises, to shed off those extra calories and get rid of flabby abs. Even a small amount of cycling can prove to be good enough to boost your metabolism level, thereby fastening your weight loss program.
It minimizes the risk of coronary heart disease. Essentially an aerobic exercise, it gives your heart, blood vessels and lungs a workout, thereby reducing the risk of heart problems. It raises your heart rate and gets the blood pumping round your body, and it burns calories, limiting the chance of your being overweight.
Cycling enhances the overall fitness level of a person. It makes you breathe deeper and perspire more, thereby leading to a feeling of enhanced body temperature. Doctor also advises that a few miles of cycling per day assure trimmer and toned muscles. This is because our upper thigh muscles, backside and calf muscles all get to workout.
The resolution of World Bicycle Day lay emphasis on uniqueness, longevity, and versatility of bicycle, which has been in use for the last two hundred years. Cycling not improves health but also contributes to a pollution-free environment.
Besides, it aids in weight loss, improves postures, reduces stress. In most of the cities, many people have started using vehicles to get to their offices and most likely spend the whole day seated, working. In most busy cities there are cycle lanes so even if there is heavy congestion, you don’t have to get stuck in the middle of it.
As a result it is a much more relaxing way of commuting to and from work and you don’t have to worry about hours of extra time being added onto your journey if you get stuck in major traffic.
Simply cycling to and from work or to the shops everyday is enough to keep you happy and healthy. Don’t we think everyone should embrace cycling to achieve the required level of physical exercise?
(The columnist hails from Jodhpur Tekra in Ahmedabad)
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