J..

I used to ride a lot but work and school have bombarded me and I slowly started selling off my bike stuff until I got rid of it all. Lately though I've been reading a lot of articles about exercise and its benefits...not just weight loss...so I'm getting back into bikes.I don't have much free time and the free time I do have is usually spent relaxing or sleeping....but I think I'm going to squeeze in cycling somehow. It's easier for me to handle stress after a workout. Maybe the physical stress exerted increases tolerance?? I dunno but it works and it isn't some placebo effect for me. Yeah, so I'm going to buy a training bike and then blow 5k on a BMC with my holiday bonus hahaha. What is the point of the thread? To talk about stress....stress of choosing which color BMC.

John1992

I know that on bad days at the office, I swear I can feel the stress leaving my body as I ride. If I go 3 days off the bike I get real pissy.

travkat

all the time! it works like a charm unless I get stressed by crazy drivers.

Machka 

Getting rid of stress is one of the many reasons I ride.

"Relaxing" .... interesting-looking word you've used there, J... What does it mean?

rollin

I don't usually feel stress but maybe that's because I ride. It's my prozac.

Cycling makes me feel like a little kid.

My bmcs are red/black and white/black. I used to own a naked carbon but it died (RIP)

Anbaric Cog

Absolutely. Even when there are crazy drivers, I arrive home much less stressed than when I leave work. On the fun or training rides, stress reduction is even better.

a.c.

weavers

boxing helps me relive stress. a few hours at a 100lbs weight bag is pretty fun, intense and i really push myself. i use to do tae kwon do for six years when i was younger and recently i taught myself how to box. i need a parter though, just someone to hit me, so i learn how to take a punch. its been a while since i've been in a fight.

i also cycle, dance, teach dance, write poetry, garden, and lift weights. i heard sex helps relive stress, i still trying to figure this one out. maybe i have no stress in my life. none of these things really help with stress, but i supose lifting weights and boxing do the trick.

Psimet2001 

If I don't ride I am a MAJOR a-hole.


When I ride I am only a minor a-hole.

Dan H

I don't ride to relieve stress, it's just a positive side-effect.

Dirk Calloway

ofcourse, cycling is the best remmedy for stress/troubles

El Pelon

Cycling is a form of meditation for me. The repetitive motion, the necessity of focusing on the road ahead to avoid hazards, the lack of portable communication devices (I put them on silent when I am on the bike), and the physical exertion combine to drive the ever-present daily stressors (work, family, mortgage, etc.) from my mind. Couple all of that with the endorphine rush I feel at the end of the ride, and cycling becomes my "drug" of choice. Go to it.

waterrockets 

If I need to blow of some steam, a ride is where I go. People at work raise an eyebrow at times when I take off for mid-day rides when we're under the worst schedule pressure, but I come back much better than I left.

rufvelo

Most of us do. But then we come here and get stressed out.

Anti404

I didn't ride for about four days and I thought my head was going to explode. I think that the thought of not riding stresses me out, and I am sure that upgrading my bicycle factors into the increase of my stress level.

Kambei

Three years ago I was going through a divorce and was a wreck. I started running trails, hiking in the North Georgia mountains, and biking to relieve the anger and hurt. Now I still do all three, but more because I enjoy them and the fitness they help me maintain.

obie

I love to ride but, hate it when I lose it with a crazy driver - stress relief (riding) becomes an anger management session in my head for the rest of the ride. Hate that.

Did all that last nite. Took me a good 30 mins. to get over my anger & questioning myself how I could've handled the incident better...yadda, yadda. Sheit happens - I just don't like being run off the road by an a-hole.

I changed routes and did some climbing...nearly toppled over during the effort but, that did get my mind off the encounter.

Beaker

I have made time in my schedule to get a lunchtime ride in twice a week. I go climb a local hill as part of an 17-18mile loop. There's nothing better for getting me re-energized for the afternoon and clearing my head, once you're climbing the hill everything else disappears.

z415

Punching bags are good, but I have this MUP around here that is lightly used and I just go and relax - nothing to worry about except maybe the occasional deer, tortoise, or rabbit. I love it because it is in the middle of nowhere so it kind of combines the nature feel of trail riding, but I can relax, sometimes I can close my eyes for a bit.

Other than that, I find trail riding, commuting, actual "road" riding to be somewhat stressful.

JaRow

The bike is the reason I'm not on drugs. If I could find a comfortable saddle I would be even more happy.

pista

Going back to the days when I didn't ride regularily, I was pretty stressed out from running a business and family, etc. Since, I've been riding a least once every two days, I find my stress level is way down and I find I approach problems with a much more level headed manner. Cycling has put my life in a better perspective - I run my business better, my family life is better and I don't really worry that much, knowing that everything will work out in the end anyways. As the always did - whether stressed or not.

Yup, get on a bike and you will find you troubles are really that big. Trust me.

xg43x

Its become meditation. The focus on my breathing helps maintain a clear mind while riding. By controlling my breathing Ive noticed some progress with my training.

55/Rad

Cycling is my escape...pure and simple.

tacomalife

always, as a business owner I work myself and my wife to the bone. Cycling is one of our only releases. Its like freedom and a work out all in one, everything we need!

caloso

Duh.

Raerfani

For sure...

I ride not only because it makes me feel like a kid, but it also really helps me calm down (after the ride).