Can cycling lead to a reduced life expectancy?

[Carrera]

Forget it! This winter I'll more than likey be training on Christmas day while you guys are getting fat on Christmas pudding.

It's probably not the best time of year to buy a boat.
That needs doing up.
Make these rides be your training rides, not as well as.

 

[Carrera]

Here it's raining, the sky is grey and it's getting dark. Tonight I work at 22.00 p.m.
In 30 minutes from now I'll be on the road, wet, miserable, puffing and red in the face as I start my first major climb of the ride.
There will be few, if any other cyclists out at this time. At some point I'll be riding in darkness (occasions when you get dogs jumping at you from the sidewalk as their owners take them for walks!)
But cycling is that kind of sport, especially if you live in England or France. All I can do is think of the TDF riders climbing the cols in snow and hail and take comfort in the fact I'm not alone.
But to be honest, as I look out of the window and see the gloom and rain, I am not eager.

Two whole days? I haven't ridden since September 9th.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Here it's raining, the sky is grey and it's getting dark. Tonight I work at 22.00 p.m.
In 30 minutes from now I'll be on the road, wet, miserable, puffing and red in the face as I start my first major climb of the ride.
There will be few, if any other cyclists out at this time. At some point I'll be riding in darkness (occasions when you get dogs jumping at you from the sidewalk as their owners take them for walks!)
But cycling is that kind of sport, especially if you live in England or France. All I can do is think of the TDF riders climbing the cols in snow and hail and take comfort in the fact I'm not alone.
But to be honest, as I look out of the window and see the gloom and rain, I am not eager.

I bet. I wouldn't be looking forward to that either. I don't even like to go outside in nasty weather. I'm a fair weather recreational cyclist and I haven't even been that lately. I'm taking some time away from the bike and have gone back to the weights for a while. I'm going to see how much I can add to my arms by year's end. Shooting for 19". Shouldn't be a problem.

Edit: Holy ****! I just measured. Am at 19" now! Good grief. Was at 18 5/8" on August 23rd after only 7 weeks of lifting. Started at 18".

Guess I'll shoot for 19 1/2 by New Year's Day. No steroids either. Just have the right kind of genes for gaining size/weight as an ecto-mesomorph. Now if I could only drop the "ecto" part.

 

[Don Shipp]

Forget it! This winter I'll more than likey be training on Christmas day while you guys are getting fat on Christmas pudding.

I could live on Christmas pudding and not get fat.
Don't you overdo it and make yourself ill.

 

[Carrera]

Well, off I went in the pouring rain. I winded up throwing an old, yellow raincoat on and some shorts so my legs stayed dry. I rode and rode in the rain, although it went off after a while.
Of course, my brakes were useless in the wet so conditions were treacherous. The winder battered me on the climbs as well, plus it got dark.
However, this is why you need an all weather road bike. I always ride my all weather bike in the rain and keep my best bike dry.
As for Dr Morbius's post, my arms were pretty big too at one point but cycling has slimmed me down a lot. I guess they must only be about 15 inches at this time.

I could live on Christmas pudding and not get fat.
Don't you overdo it and make yourself ill.

 

[mises]

Studies have shown exactly the opposite:
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[size=+1]Erythrocyte free radical scavenger enzymes in bicycle professional racers. Adaptation to training.[/size]

Mena P, Maynar M, Gutierrez JM, Maynar J, Timon J, Campillo JE.

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain.

This study was designed to investigate the influence of endurance training on the activities of the scavenger enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) measured in erythrocytes from sedentary subjects, amateur bicycle racers and in professional bicycle racers who were cycling in two real cyclist contests including the top-class race Vuelta a Espana (VCE). Under resting conditions the SOD activity was higher (p less than 0.01) in cyclists than in controls. The activities of CAT and GSH-Px were higher (p less than 0.05 and p less than 0.01, respectively) under resting conditions in professional cyclists versus measured both in sedentary subjects and amateur cyclists. The enzyme activities were not modified significantly in professional cyclists after a bout of exercise of 22 km in 5 hrs, but the SOD activity was increased (p less than 0.05) and CAT activity reduced (p less than 0.05) after 2800 km in 20 days (VCE). The present results shown that aerobic endurance training, when at a professional level, produces an increase in the erythrocyte activities of the main free radicals scavenger enzymes.

The study only states that the scavenger activity increased, not that it was sufficient to offset any damage that was done. It would be very surprising if the body didn't try to adapt in every way possible.

When my kidneys were failing it happened slowly enough that my body could adapt all the way down to 8% function with the help of bp drugs and handfuls of tums every time I ate, but that doesn't mean there was no damage occuring.

 

[Adam-from-SLO]

Lance wants a light bike because he is competing, which you are not.
Think of this, if you can knock a few minutes off your run without lightening your bike, then either you have become fitter or your technique has improved.
If you can knock minutes off your run by using lighter wheels, what has this proved?
You cycle for fitness, so a heavier bike is good for the ascents.
For hard training and commuting this winter, use sturdy wheels with robust tyres. They are less likely to pack up on you, and when you switch back again in the spring it will feel like you are flying.
Also, climb on your middle or small ring; the gears won't be rubbing and a high cadence is better for you as well.

You forgot....
*Dont go to the bathroom before the ride.... that could be an extra ++ ounces of weight added to your ride

*load up some extra water bottles/filled w/H2O on the ride... water does actually weight kinda alot .

*wear ankle weights when riding.... increases resistance

Personally, I can say riding a Ti. or Carbon frame has the major benifit of *shock absorption* which translates to being able to rider further distances, and feeling less fatigued(lower back/hips).... esp. Ti. Steel works well ....... I greatly warn against buying Alum. road bike(for the higher milage rider + someone who wants to keep there ride for 4-5+ years) , unless you absolutely need that stiffness- and your a sprinter or something.

 

[Fetus]

just watch out for cars... and trees.

I just dislocated my shoulder and possibly did a little more damage a couple weeks ago... I learned that trees hurt and they don't get out of the way quick enough

 

[larryb]

a stress test revealed that my blood pressure gets high enough to get docs concerned when i exercise at higer levels... which i enjoy.

i wonder how many folks have blood pressure issues while exercising.... any statistics on bikers stoking out?

cu,
larryb

 

[larryb]

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/pedal_h.htm


A Review of Pedalling Health 'is an Australian web site with excellent information about cycling health. '

they got some interesting statistics for Australian bikers.

 

[vio765]

my psych prof at ball state in indiana has worked with college level cyclists in the human performance lab and through his souces or experience, has stated that cyclists are very likely to see ruduced life expectency. i asked him about it (because IM A CYCLIST!!) and he stated that long, intense, hours of training virtually all year long for years has this possibility. i told him that i try to get in about 400-450 hours of REAL training (not stretching or warmup/downs), plus about 15-30 of those hours are weight training. i get 2-3 weeks off completely, then the periodization thing (Friels book is what i use when makin my plan). he know about friels book and said it was very common and respected amongst most scientists. he told me that under those conditions, i will see a loss, but not like that of a cat 1/2 or pro. i suppose it could be proportional. but, i could go out and get killed by wolves! so it is hard to say. so i took his advice by keeping my recovery plan perfect and bulletproof. he said that extra sleep and calories are the key. duh.

 

[Scalpel1]

Life Expectancy? Are you kidding me! Don't we all wish we knew how long we were going to live. Just be glad you found this wonderful source of entertainment. We just had 2 local cyclists get hit and killed by cars in the last month. 35 and 54 years old. Maybe we shouldn't expect so much! Take advice from Lance's chic, "If it makes you Happy, it can't be that Bad".

and while your at it take a look at this link: http://frankwykoff2.com/john_sinibaldi.htm

Live in the moment folks, be gracious for having another today, We all have been given one more ride! Woo - Hoo! Isn't that just great, now make the most of it. Enjoy!

 

[Adam-from-SLO]

Life Expectancy? Are you kidding me! Don't we all wish we knew how long we were going to live. Just be glad you found this wonderful source of entertainment. We just had 2 local cyclists get hit and killed by cars in the last month. 35 and 54 years old. Maybe we shouldn't expect so much! Take advice from Lance's chic, "If it makes you Happy, it can't be that Bad".

and while your at it take a look at this link: http://frankwykoff2.com/john_sinibaldi.htm

Live in the moment folks, be gracious for having another today, We all have been given one more ride! Woo - Hoo! Isn't that just great, now make the most of it. Enjoy!

Insightful perspective.... which I 100% agree with myself.

Where I live... back about 10 years ago, a club of 20+ riders were riding along a stretch of California Hwy 1 - by Cambria, CA ........ and I believe a drunk driver at 7am came along and wipped out 10+ of them, in one single blow ! Those damn mechines us humans create that inflict not only damage to other humans directly, but also pollute the earth.... .... theres gotta be a better way in life to live day-to-day then relying on autos as much as we do.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

.... which I 100% agree with myself

Ha! I always agree with myself. Except for the rare instance when I don't.

 

[Adam-from-SLO]

Ha! I always agree with myself. Except for the rare instance when I don't.

Nice !
That was a little pshcho-babble on my part.... trippin with the words !

 

[Induray]

The Bottom Line: It is not how long you live....But HOW you live. Life of the Universe is in Billions of years.....50 or 70 years becomes insignificant.