What changes do the body change when you regularly ride a bicycle?
 

There were a lot of cyclists around me, and in a small talk I asked them what changes their bodies had brought by riding a bike.

Some of them say that riding a bicycle has made him thinner.

Some people think that they have made their bodies better and become less susceptible to colds.

Some become depressed and irritable on the road, especially when the car is honking its horn behind you or when they drive to you.

I want to bring good or bad things to our bodies by cycling, but it maybe make our lives convenient and healthy. What about you, what does cycling bring to your body?

I’m 55 and the same weight I was the day I graduated from high school, so in some ways, my body hasn’t changed at all.

My waist gets smaller. My quads, hamstrings, and glutes get bigger. I lose about 5 pounds. My body fat drops a few percentage points. I get a farmer tan. My resting heart rate drops from the mid-50s to the mid-40s.

Every year.

Your cardio will get better, your legs will get stronger, your upper body will get a little bit stronger, but your flabbiness will depend on how you eat.

Getting off the couch and onto a bike, the first big improvement was cardio. Once I could breathe then I could work and my legs and core got stronger. My flexibility is much better. With some muscle, my ankles, knees and lower back all complain less.

The part of my body most improved by cycling is my brain. I truly enjoy the riding/work and I'm better mentally all around. Better husband, better dad.

Us ectomorphs are genetically lucky with weight, skinny is how I be, so no bragging on that count.

I became more aerobically fit. Factors that affect my weight and strength are determined in the kitchen and the gym.

Not so much a change to my body as much as it is that I wonder more about how a slightly older longtime friend is still doing as well as I and he has been obese to very obese most of his adult life. We both still muse about who is going to be at whose wake. And also the same for an Aunt that is now in her 90's. Though she hasn't gotten around too well for the last 10 years.

Certainly for every example of benefit to me that I can come up with I can also point to the opposites that suggest why bother.

However for me, cycling is enjoyable and I feel better when I cycle at least 90 - 120 miles a week.

Well, I made it to 83 with just one cold and no flu or other contagious diseases the last 15 to 20 years. I have no idea if that's related to all the cardio and resistance exercises I do. It may be and probably is just luck.

Overall body fitness. I’m 65 and can feel the muscle groups the next day or two. Cardio is enhanced so much so it is noticeable when I’m doing other tasks. Sense of well-being is enhanced, moods are elevated.

I have far less sinus congestion when I ride and that happens even when the outside pollen count is high. My body's immune system is better regulated in this regards. Having a stronger back and stomach muscles and more stamina definitely helps with ones sex life.

Some of you have heard my story of how cycling changed my life. I started cycling late, at age 12, because I have always been "coordination-challenged." (In polar opposites contrast, our younger son is a natural athlete, instantly and instinctively adept at any sport he tries. My standing joke with my amateur ballerina wife is that "he gets it from me.") When I was a 22-year-old UCLA grad student working at a bike shop, one of my coworkers was a teenager who had grown up in the same neighborhood I had. When his father visited the store, he reintroduced us, and his father had trouble placing me in his memory, until he finally blurted out, "Oh ... you were that little round kid." He didn't recognize me at all because I had trimmed down after several years of serious cycling, including a double century and a Mount Wilson (Los Angeles) climb.

I owe much of my current state of robust health and fitness to cycling, complemented by weight lifting and fast walking or jogging. The sun is coming out -- time for my usual Saturday morning ride ... .

Balance.

My back pain fades away when I cycle regularly. It generally comes back in late winter after a few months off the bike. I try and mitigate this with yoga.

Been riding almost 50 years. And I can see definite changes:
Shorter now.
Hair is thin and all gray.
I need to pee more often.
I need to take a nap after a long ride and can only handle 1 or 2 beers now.
My vision is not as good, nor is my memory.

What was the question again?

Most here know my story. I started riding a bike and dieting at age 50. At that time I hadn't been on a bike since I was 10. In 2 years, I lost nearly 200 lbs. I no longer need 3 steroid shots a month and 4 pain pills a day to function. My high blood pressure went away and I got off all my bp meds. My second year,I rode 360 days. Some days it was only a couple miles in the snow with a MTB but I only missed 5 days that year. By the end of that second year, I was a very lean 6''2 - 170lbs and had more endurance than when I played football in high school. No surgery, no diet pills, just cycling and proper diet.

I have experienced all the benefits listed above, just to a larger degree.

I once lost 90 lbs. in 9 months through diet change and cycling.

Interestingly, I put on some fat while riding across the country. That happened in the Midwest after starting out west. I was still riding the same amount, but I was conditioned to eat like I was still riding in the mountains. I think that goes to show you how important one's diet is when it comes to weight gain/loss. Once we hit the hills/mountains of the east, I lost the fat I had gained. One thing that I am sure helped was cutting down on the number of second breakfasts we grew accustomed to in the Midwest, where portion sizes were largest.

Se my posy directly above. I am also 6'2". I went from 265 to 173 solely through diet change and exercise. I doubt I would ever be that lite today because of increased muscle mass, but I could definitely lose fat.

I found the same to be true. People ask me how much weight I lose doing weeklong rides and riding across the US. I actually put on a few pounds. Comes from consuming more and being less selective about what I eat……plus a lot more sodas with caffeine.

Cycling calms my limbic system down, perhaps like meditation or medication. I suffer from some bad trauma that happened to me. Cycling is like a safe respite. The change is invisible to the eye but is real nonetheless.

Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist, explains on his podcast the incredible effect faster movement through early sunlight has on the brain. It seems cycling is about the best way to achieve the effect which affects both sleep and mood.

If you ride a bike for enough years, you will watch your legs muscles shrivel up.