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posted by martyb on Friday September 08 2017, @12:15PM   Printer-friendly
from the wiggle-while-you-work dept.

Most cycle-commuters will tell you cycling to work is the best way to get to and from work and it's probably doing you some good. However a recent major study, published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that the health benefits are staggering, slashing the risk of heart disease and cancer. FTFA:

Research has consistently shown that people who are less physically active are both more likely to develop health problems like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and to die younger. Yet there is increasing evidence that physical activity levels are on the decline.

The problem is that when there are many demands on our time, many people find prioritising exercise difficult. One answer is to multi-task by cycling or walking to work. We've just completed the largest ever study into how this affects your health.

You can read an article here at The Conversation website and you the original research is here at the BMJ website.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @03:16PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @03:16PM (#565136)

    I used to live in Minnesota, and I rode to work for the 3 years I was there. It was about 4 miles each way. Although we didn't have the hills, we had proper winter (below zero for several months) and hot/muggy summers. I did have the advantage of being off the roads, because the city was ridiculously bike friendly compared to most.

    Heat is annoying, but I found that I don't sweat unless I'm using significant effort to get around or it's really hot. Once you get into shape the morning route really won't take you any effort. Mornings wouldn't be above 75 or so even on the hottest days, and I didn't really care if I was to sweat on the way home. Other people that did sweat would carry a change of clothes with them, wait a bit for themselves to stop sweating, and then change clothes.

    Snow, well - it depends on the kind of snow. Mainly you just need to get knobby tires, ideally with studs, and you need to worry about the break/shifter cables shrinking on you in the cold. Smooth tires make for an interesting but dangerous ride. I had summer tires and winter tires for my bike, and swapped them out as necessary.

    Wet snow/slush is gross, and you have to treat it like a big mud puddle. Lighter snow is not a big deal, though it does slow you down a bit. Hard crusty snow is annoying and you'll probably be walking your bike through that, but it shouldn't be present on the roads at all if you're using one . Ice/compact snow is fairly safe if you've got studded tires, at least in my experience. They're amazingly effective, and I would rather be on my bike than in my non-studded boots if I were going over ice.

    The main problem with winter riding is that if it's actually cold, you'll need a thick jacket. You essentially become a big sail, and that can get annoying when you've got a 15mph wind plus however fast you're going on the bike pushing against you. It's really fun to be pushed all the way home, though, so you can often make up the annoyance in the opposite direction.