cfsmtb
March 31st 06, 01:29 PM
Celebrities ride for fun and fitness
It can be difficult dealing with the cooler months across Australia,
especially when getting the bicycle out of the shed and going for a
ride through the local neighbourhood. But many Australians are looking
to the two-wheeling pastime as a means of transportation - and daily
exercise.
Michael Pascoe, one of Australia's most respected and experienced
finance and economics commentators, said cycling to work is a growing
trend and a very welcome one in Australia's car-obsessed culture.
Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are just a few cities that have "Ride to
Work'' events to encourage people to get out of their cars. "If we can
take people from the front seat of their car, put them on a bike and
have them do 15 minutes twice a day, five days a week, that is a
tremendous improvement in overall health,'' said Pascoe. "If people put
five dollars in a jar every time they rode their bike to work, they
would retire richer, healthier and younger.''
Neil Mitchell, who admits to being car-dependent for most of his life,
has also made the transition. He rides from one of Melbourne's suburbs.
His partner already had a car and it didn't make sense to pay for
insurance and parking for two cars. He decided public transport was
fine, but realised he could ride his bike. "It was a phenomenal
financial savings,'' said Mitchell, a high-rating talkback announcer on
radio station 3AW. He even travels to meetings throughout the day on his
bike: "It's quicker than hailing a cab.'' What may have started out as a
monetary decision quickly turned into a lifestyle choice with many
benefits. Cycling to work has helped to whittle the one-time overweight
Mitchell into trim and fit cyclist. "And the bum is in good shape ...
when people comment, that feels so good,'' he said with slight
embarrassment, adding that no one ever commented on his derriere before
his daily cycling ritual.
"My job doesn't allow me to - or I guess I'm using this maybe as an
excuse - to go to the gym on a regular basis and work out. Riding
guarantees me close to an hour a day exercise and it's not taking away
from time that is geared for other things. It's fitting in the health
time. I have to move from place to place and I can use that time as
opposed to driving a car or sitting in a cab and actually get some
exercise.''
Others can't give up their daily cycling fix. Michael Duffy, who
presents Counterpoint on Radio National and is a columnist for the
Sydney Morning Herald, cycles to work come rain, shine or hail.
"Cycling on the road is possibly safer than commuting the same
distance''. Duffy said, "Riding to and from work every day was a
wonderful and convenient way of making exercise part of a daily
ritual." He also mentioned there are three things people needed to
include when incorporating fitness into their lives: strength,
flexibility and endurance.
"(Cycling) definitely helps with endurance and probably helps with leg
strength. If you do stretching before and after your bike ride it
probably helps with flexibility,'' he said, emphasizing that wearing a
helmet, having lights and travelling on relatively easy roads and
paths, as opposed to driving on freeways, make cycling a very safe form
of exercise.
Mitchell, Pascoe and Duffy all agreed the simple effort of riding a
bicycle to and from work results in better cardiovascular health, keeps
diabetes in check, helps with osteoporosis and overall mobility. As a
bonus, Duffy said the ride to work wakes him up and the ride home helps
him leave work at the office. And it allows him to feel as though he's
doing a little bit to cut down on the smog that often chokes Sydney.
--
cfsmtb
It can be difficult dealing with the cooler months across Australia,
especially when getting the bicycle out of the shed and going for a
ride through the local neighbourhood. But many Australians are looking
to the two-wheeling pastime as a means of transportation - and daily
exercise.
Michael Pascoe, one of Australia's most respected and experienced
finance and economics commentators, said cycling to work is a growing
trend and a very welcome one in Australia's car-obsessed culture.
Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are just a few cities that have "Ride to
Work'' events to encourage people to get out of their cars. "If we can
take people from the front seat of their car, put them on a bike and
have them do 15 minutes twice a day, five days a week, that is a
tremendous improvement in overall health,'' said Pascoe. "If people put
five dollars in a jar every time they rode their bike to work, they
would retire richer, healthier and younger.''
Neil Mitchell, who admits to being car-dependent for most of his life,
has also made the transition. He rides from one of Melbourne's suburbs.
His partner already had a car and it didn't make sense to pay for
insurance and parking for two cars. He decided public transport was
fine, but realised he could ride his bike. "It was a phenomenal
financial savings,'' said Mitchell, a high-rating talkback announcer on
radio station 3AW. He even travels to meetings throughout the day on his
bike: "It's quicker than hailing a cab.'' What may have started out as a
monetary decision quickly turned into a lifestyle choice with many
benefits. Cycling to work has helped to whittle the one-time overweight
Mitchell into trim and fit cyclist. "And the bum is in good shape ...
when people comment, that feels so good,'' he said with slight
embarrassment, adding that no one ever commented on his derriere before
his daily cycling ritual.
"My job doesn't allow me to - or I guess I'm using this maybe as an
excuse - to go to the gym on a regular basis and work out. Riding
guarantees me close to an hour a day exercise and it's not taking away
from time that is geared for other things. It's fitting in the health
time. I have to move from place to place and I can use that time as
opposed to driving a car or sitting in a cab and actually get some
exercise.''
Others can't give up their daily cycling fix. Michael Duffy, who
presents Counterpoint on Radio National and is a columnist for the
Sydney Morning Herald, cycles to work come rain, shine or hail.
"Cycling on the road is possibly safer than commuting the same
distance''. Duffy said, "Riding to and from work every day was a
wonderful and convenient way of making exercise part of a daily
ritual." He also mentioned there are three things people needed to
include when incorporating fitness into their lives: strength,
flexibility and endurance.
"(Cycling) definitely helps with endurance and probably helps with leg
strength. If you do stretching before and after your bike ride it
probably helps with flexibility,'' he said, emphasizing that wearing a
helmet, having lights and travelling on relatively easy roads and
paths, as opposed to driving on freeways, make cycling a very safe form
of exercise.
Mitchell, Pascoe and Duffy all agreed the simple effort of riding a
bicycle to and from work results in better cardiovascular health, keeps
diabetes in check, helps with osteoporosis and overall mobility. As a
bonus, Duffy said the ride to work wakes him up and the ride home helps
him leave work at the office. And it allows him to feel as though he's
doing a little bit to cut down on the smog that often chokes Sydney.
--
cfsmtb