Ridiculously OT: Bike vs Walking

[El_Phil]

So here in the land of clogs, tulips and Grolsch I have a question. Which would improve my fitness more: Walking or cycling in each morning. It's a flat (obviously ) route about 20/25mins walk and 7mins by bike, same distance.

It is somewhat academic as I'm not a morning person so would never getup early enough too walk in and make it on time, but I am curious.


And a promotion! Over 50 posts, or the average amount of posts AT or Strategia make in a couple of days

[Atrocities]

"Get rid of the nickle plated sissy *** cycle and get yourself a Harley." - Tommy Lee Jones. (Sorta)

[El_Phil]

You pay for it, I'll ride it

[Caduceus]

Over that short a distance, probably equally efficacious. Weight loss, improved cardiovascular performance and general exercise tolerance occur when an individual pushes their body for more than thirty minutes at a pace that just makes them able to carry a conversation.

My general advice to folks is to try the 20 minute challenge where they run/bike/swim for twenty minutes at a pace they can maintain three to five times per week for two weeks. After the two weeks (establishing the habit of working out), add two minutes per week.

It is critical to
a.) not push yourself too hard initially.
b.) find a buddy to keep you on-track with your exercise schedule.
c.) stop if you have pain.
d.) wear comfortable and appropriate clothing for the exercise (wearing multiple layers of clothes to help "sweat off the pounds" can be dangerous)
e.) hydrate hydrate hydrate before and after exercise - water and some sports drinks not sodas/coffee

Obviously if you have medical problems, consult your doctor first. He/she may recommend a stress test on a treadmill before initiating any new exercise regimen.

[Evil_Duckie]

It does make a difference where in this country you are (obviously a different part than where I am, as I haven't seen any clogs, tulips or Grolsch today...). If you're in Amsterdam, go by bike. The reason is that everybody else in traffic there fears the bikes. Whenever I'm there, bikes do kamikaze attacks on me, whether I'm walking or driving my car.

Apart from that, I'd say walk. Fresh air does you good and you simply get more of it if you're outside for a longer period of time.

[El_Phil]

I'm in and around Delft which has it's fair share of Grolsch bars and a giant clog in one of the main squares. I'll be fair though I haven't seen many tulips or windmills nearby.

The bikes do seem to have taken the Indian driver approach to life, if your fated to die then you will die so take any amount of crazy risks. Having said that I was cycling across a road, got halfway and saw a car slowing down so guessed he was stopping, carried on, got a prolonged horn burst and waved fist from the driver who then stopped at the lights. No idea what that was all about.

[Atrocities]

The check is in the mail.... I had to convert it from US dollars to that funny money you all use over there so its only worth about .02 cents.. I hope that is enough.

[El_Phil]

Ahh you must be talking about this monopoly money they call Euros. No sir, I normally use pound sterling a real currency that isn't given to you every time you pass go.

[Slick]

Use a bike. I can tell you from personal experience that walking is very boring compared to biking and you'll much more likely continue biking for the fun of it. I started biking for exercise over 15 years ago and continue till today.

BTW, you can't equate distances for walking/cycling. It's better to equate times - 20 min of excercise is 20 min of exercise. They aren't the same; personally I think you get a better workout on a bike anyway and you can taylor your speed/regiment. Plus if you are a beginner you get to rest a little on the downhills (and walk the bike up hills if you are a wuss).

What I did in the beginning is pick a close destination. I'd bike to it and back using different routes to minimize monotony. Then I bought one of those bike "speedometers". The thing measures lots of things: current speed, trip time, max speed, trip distance, total distance, cadence (pedal rotations per minute), average speed. I then would be determined to better my avg speed (and thus trip time) on every single run. It didn't matter if I beat my old time by 1 second, the goal was to do it a little faster each time. When I could easily complete the run at a pretty high avg speed, I changed my destination to a place a little farther away. Also, keeping cadence high (by use of different gears) is a key to efficiency.

I was in a great place for this since if I went one way from my house, I'd start with a long hill end up coming home with a long downhill. If I went the other direction it was the opposite. I called the hill on that side "heartbreak hill" since it was a gruelling climb at the end of the run.

I couldn't have kept my interest in exercise if it was just walking.

[David E. Gervais]

I'm a walker, love to walk. I get a kick out of seeing the faces of friends when I tell them I walk to stores accross town (about a 5 mile walk round trip) and tell them it takes me a little less than an hour (plus the time spend wandering the store) They think I'm crazy. LoL.. this from friends that take their car to go 3 blocks to a corner store for milk.

I also ride a bicycle (which I named Harley) which is a CCM 10 Speed. The bike actually broke a few years back, and I don't really miss it. I really prefer walking. I great day for me is when I make the trip into Montreal and spend the day walking around town. from about 6am till 11pm. Yes I cover alot of ground, but it's great, simply wonderful.

Spring is here, the boots are stored and my walking shoes are back in business, Oh the joy.

So my vote is Walk, Biking will only keep your legs in shape. Walking will keep you in shape. Also, By walking every day, you'll find that you'll see many of the same people, and you will fast feel like a member of the morning local crowd.

nuf said,.. Cheers!

P.S. Did I say I love to walk?