beng1

I make a point to regularly go for walks to run small errands and visit neighbors, and of course I push a lawnmower around too. Mostly over the last 6 months I have been riding a single-speed road-bike so when I come to some of the steep hills on my routes that are maybe 5% and steeper, I just jump off, relax and walk the bike up the hills. The heart-rate walking a bike up a steep hill stays the same as it was riding at a good clip on the more level sections so it is a better training technique than riding up a steep grade and jumping into zone-3.

Steel Charlie

Get a cart, carry 4 or 5 bags Make the trip worthwhile.

staehpj1

Yep, that style bag will carry a fair amount of stuff comfortably. It isn't that different than the bags we carried newspapers in when I was a paper boy many decades ago. We could carry more with a big belt/strap though, but that wouldn't work so well for groceries.

Not sure how popular they are these days, but those carts that fold flat used to be popular and worked great.

rsbob 

Walk my labradoodle 12 miles a week. My wife and I alternate days. I listen to Hidden Brain and The Daily while checking out the gardens and chatting with other dog walkers. Without the dog and podcasts I would be bored

sean.hwy

If hiking in the hills 5% + grade ( not walking flat at the mall ) I think hiking does more for fitness for the same amount of time. say doing both activities 4 hours at heart rate 150 etc...

teejaywhy

I like to walk. But I don't usually invest any energy in philosophical navel gazing about it.

terrymorse 

Hiking's good easy/moderate aerobic exercise, but it's hard (for me) to get the workout intensity up at a walking pace. And running is not an option for me, due to injuries.

My walking pace is around 3-3.5 mph, and to get my heart rate over 140 requires a grade of about 15%. The same 140+ heart rate effort at 15% on a bike gets me going around 5.5 mph.

Unlike hiking, the bike makes it easy to increase workout intensity; you just pedal harder.

grantelmwood

I prefer to run up hills

sean.hwy

if you have have the knees for it knock yourself out. Unfortunately I was hit while riding motorcycle by car so running is out for me :/

Trail running/hiking probably one of the best exercises you do. Just want twisting your ankles and knees from roots and things.

I find I get more joy out riding a bike. I think nothing of a 5+ hour ride with friends on a weekend. If I am hiking 5 hours I want a view to make it worth it. ha-ha

Calsun

My parents would take us to the beach at Laguna CA every summer but it was the first time that I bicycled along the coast highway at less than 20 mph that I noticed how much I had missed sitting inside a car. Same with bicycling the Avenue of the Giants in the redwoods where anyone driving along at 50+ mph sees far less and hears and smells nothing at all.

In past years when car camping in National Forest areas it was rare to see a young person without an ipod or phone who was listening to music or playing a game and completely oblivious to the natural sounds and smells and sights of nature. I can understand why Steve Jobs refused to buy these devices and computers for his own children.

When I was growing up I spent a great deal of time in the forests, the deserts, and at the beaches, and they were a place to get away from the city and to do a mental reset. Now everyone wants to have their digital umbilical cord and are addicted to their electronic devices and need a daily, if not hourly fix.

50PlusCycling

I live in Japan where the obesity and diabetes rates are about one-fifth of America’s. Japan also has the world’s best longevity. I can’t attribute this to diet, as Japanese eat lots of bread, rice, assorted junk food, and consume the most salt of any race. But I can attribute physical activity, mostly walking.

When I moved to Japan I was surprised at how much walking I had to do. Walking down 3 flights of stairs from my apartment, walking 20 minutes to the train station, 2 flights of stairs in the station, a twenty minute standing-room-only ride, change trains, 2 more flights of stairs, another 30 minutes standing-room-only ride, two more flights of stairs, and 10 minutes of walking to my office. Then play this in reverse for the evening. Walking is not a bad way of staying healthy.

Erzulis Boat 

This paragraph pertains to the Camino de Santiago. It's not a blanket statement about walking vs. cycling. I am not religious, but if I did the Camino, I would definitely go by foot without vehicular assistance. This is what is being written about here.

sin7

I dislike walking. Well, it's slow. It's hard to bypass smokers fast without breathing the smoke. Even if I walk fast around 6km/h. It feels like you put so much energy to cross so little distance.
I did hiking quite a lot during my life, probably hiking has a different feeling and philosophy behind - it's not the city, it's not about reaching the point B. You're not in hurry. You just enjoy your time. But when I'm doing my usual walks to the shop or to the buss station, to police, to shops - it's pure reaching from point A to point B. When I'm using bicycle for commuting at least it feels like a training. Usually I use scooters on short distances simply because well I need to take off bike from 4th floor and then bring it back, it makes no sense for short distances.

indyfabz

I have always been a city boy. My parents were not outdoorsy people at all. When I went away to high school in western MA, I fell in love with “the woods.”

I did my first self contained bike tour at age 34. That was in ‘99. No one except the tour leader had phones back then.

When I tour these days, I take a phone for communication, photos and mapping. It’s often off or in airplane mode. No laptop or GPS. (I still make paper cue sheets.) I prefer to stay in places like Forest Service campgrounds and places like state parks, where I am often more in nature than one is in a commercial campground. When the opportunity presents itself, I often take walks after setting up camp or just sit by a fire enjoying my surroundings.

indyfabz

Manly men after 7 days of walking in Glacier National Park. No bathing. The water was too cold. And neither of us brought any money for beers from the camp store while waiting to be picked up. Dumb.