Cycling Vis-à-Vis Health & Fitness

There are 3 paths to Good Health (I think):-

o See a Doctor
o Watch Your Diet
o Exercise

The “See a Doctor” path to Good Health is usually very expensive and unless we have so much money to throw around, this is not a good way, unless very necessary.

When a person needs to to this, it is mostly due to the fact that the person does not have the physical capabilities to follow the other 2 paths.

Watching one’s diet is another way a lot of people try and maintain good health, as over weight; over-eating and eating the wrong type of food are found to be a major cause of most illness.

However it has been emphasized over and over again that good nutritional habit together with some form of cardiovascular exercise, is necessary and would greatly reduced chances being caught death with a major illness.

So what are some of the cardiovascular exercises that may strengthen your heart and ward off major illness related to a sedentary lifestyle?

1. Fast Walking


2. Jogging


3. Swimming


4. Rollerblading


5. Cycling

However cycling has certain advantages over other exercises:

1. Cycling exercises the heart better than walking or running.


2. Cycling (similar to swimming) is an exercise that goes without the pounding and the wearing out of the knees and leg joints.


3. One can ride a bicycle almost anywhere, at any time of the year, and at low cost. You need a swimming pool or a beach to swim.


4. Imagine you run 5 to 10 km. You will be so tired and unable to enjoy the scenery. You can cycle leisurely 20 to 50 km and enjoy the scenery around you and feel the breeze.


5. Little or no time has to be lost, as bike can be used to get to work, perform errands, or enjoy the outdoors.


6. Commuting by bike reduces pollution that causes asthma and bronchitis.

On the down side, cycling does involve some risk of injury but this has been greatly exaggerated by fear mongers. Cycling actually has similar risks to traveling by automobile.

One very interesting question is how much aerobic exercise should one get every day? Some medical authorities recommend as little as 20 minutes a day, three times a week, while others recommend four times that amount.

Why the great difference? Well, most authorities recognize the more exercise the better up to some undetermined point, but many are afraid that if they expect too much, people won't exercise at all.

Another reason for lowering the recommendation was due to the damage caused by jogging, a problem cycling does not share. The concern here is that those setting very low requirements are giving people the mistaken impression that they don't need any more exercise than their usual, basic sedentary life.

How much exercise do I recommend? I find that an hour of cycling 2 to 3 times a week keeps me feeling good.

But remember that lower amounts of exercise improve one's health and higher amounts improve one's fitness.

So it is up to you whether you just want to improve your health or improve your fitness. Fitness itself also has many level of fitness. So………

It is all UP TO YOU. Just that Cycling is the Best Exercise!

Chew GC

CHANGE OF NAME

Changi Cycling Group has changed its name to Team EZ Riders or just EZ Riders effective 1^st July 2009.

What’s in a name? Nothing.

A name does not mean anything. There is no significance in a name; just like, a rose with any other name smell just as sweet. Tiger Woods, with any other name, plays golf just as great and entertaining. A cheetah with any other name runs just as fast and will still be the fastest animal on earth.

So what is the rationale behind a name and by using any of the above names, will one be just as great and well known? No. It is one’s talent, skill and practise that makes one great. It is through enormous amount of hard work and effort, endurance and patience both mentally and physically that one can achieve greatness.

But by saying so, EZ Riders is not in the least having any thoughts of been great. To us, a name is simply a label, an identification of a group, so that we can be addressed as one, nothing more.

The riders are a mix of men and ladies with ages ranging from 30s to 60s, professionals in their respective fields, gentle by nature and well mannered. The common theme in this activity is to exercise, stay healthy and have fun and laughter. Most important of all it is to enjoy the ride and not so much of a competition.

The greatest joy amongst the group riders is when they spot a Dura-ace or Ultegra in front of them. That’s when the adrenalin begins to rise and the chase begins with every cyclist showing their prowess of going more than 40km/hr. Obviously some riders were terribly stressed. It is exciting and so much fun to be part of this group, like a pack of hounds chasing after a hare. Indescribable joy!!

There are also many joyous and fun-filled activities and adventurous rides in Singapore as well as neighbouring countries. In line with our common objective, we have map out trips to Desaru, Batam and Bintan to enhance our cycling pleasure and enjoyment. These places have great cycling routes that are not only strenuous and challenging but also give great pleasure to test one’s endurance and stamina, and most of all a very satisfying endeavour.

The name “Changi Cycling Group” was an impromptu name selected as we were new to cycling then and our usual route was at Changi coastal road. That was about 1 year ago, and as it evolved through time, gathering momentum and strength in term of increasing number of members and upgrading of bicycles, a decision was made for the change of name. With a common consensus, the group decided that a name should be selected to depict its characteristic.

EZ Riders was chosen from a given list of names. We chose it because it gives character to our common interest and intention. It radiates camaraderie within the group and safety and welfare amongst the members.

We are now in the process of printing our own cycling jerseys for the members to strengthen our identity even further. For any future events like the Runway Endurance Cycling or the OCBC event or others, we will participate as a team to be identified by our cycling jerseys with the prominent logo “EZ Riders”.

Written by Raymond Yow

ITS OFFICIAL

Its Official, we have given a name to our group

EZ RIDERS