New Years Resolutions - Cycling

imaged sourced from www.brisbanetimes.com.au

So another years has begun. Therefore it is the time when many people start making resolutions to be better people or in Australia "TO LOSE WEIGHT" while they stuff there face with chips. When it comes to the bicycle riders the stereotype is that one will make a new personal best climbing that hill or will break X number of kilometres before the end of the year. Well that is the stereotype NOT me. So what have I resolved to do! Well I have resolved to be a better bicycle advocate. In the last year I have been slightly lazy not doing as much as I could. In short that means more emails & phone calls.

So much still needs to be done is Brisbane to make riding a bike a practical form of transport for the everyday person that it will be a busy year.

Riding a bike is "NEAT"

I will have to start this Post with a with a somewhat strange statement. I hate exercise, there is nothing more pointless in my mind then to run, jog or ride for not other reason then to get the "exercise" from it. I just don't get it! Don't get me wrong being fit and active I value highly but doing an exercise that could be otherwise incorporated into ones everyday activities just seams so pointless. Exercising for exercises own sake is just plain stupid to me!

On Monday SBS aired a very interesting doco titled "The Truth about Exercise". I have to say it said a lot of things that as an individual I already knew, never the less it was good. One of the things discussed but I had never heard named before was "NEAT". "NEAT" stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis which basically means using everyday movements to stay healthy, such as walking to a college to discuss some project instead of phoning, or riding and walking to do tasks. I have to say I was surprised that this had finally been studied, what it showed was little changes throughout the day made a big difference.

I have to say I have been banging on about this basic concept for years with people I know & work with. People never quite understand me when I say I'm lazy. The common reaction is but you ride to work and are fit. People don't quite understand that because riding to work is "exercise" I am being lazy because I am doing two things at once or as I now know "NEAT". This just seams so much common sense it is ridiculous.

A couple of years ago a workmate told me how he was doing "bootcamp" each morning before coming to work. Now to do this he was getting up at 4.30 in the morning, doing the bootcamp where he was getting yelled at to exercise going home to shower and coming to work by train. Me being the practical one asked
how are you getting to the station?
Car
why not walk?
it's 2 kms.
then why not ride you already have a mountain bike?
Oh I will get all hot an sweaty!
Now this bloke was already getting all hot and sweaty because due to his size (morbidly obese) he was getting hot and sweaty just getting from the train station to work. He was getting sweaty anyway! I knew I was banging my head against a brick wall that he had constructed. While being a nice bloke he could not see through the wall to the common sense or "NEAT" of incorporating small amounts of activity into everyday life.
There is no doubt in my mind that making this small change would have had a far more long term benefit then just doing "Bootcamp" for 2 months or so. Don't get me wrong doing group exercise gets things done in the short term but lets look at the long term eg years. Doing a short ten minute ride twice a day, five days a week to and from a train station adds up to an hour & 40 mins a week etc and is far cheaper. I am talking about behaviour change the thing that keeps you healthy!

Gyms & group training is all good but riding a Bike for utilitarian reasons of going to work, shops etc is "NEAT"

PS. I do attend a gym for weights training but never for cardio, that I get by doing everyday activities!

First Post

Evening all. First things first I can't spell.. If you read this blog it will stand out like dogs ba!!s very quickly.

I have been meaning to this for quite some time to start a blog on what it is like being a regular cyclist in Brisbane. I have been trying for quite some time to see if anybody has started a similar blog but I am yet to find one.

I am regular bloke that just happens to ride to work. I have been doing this for many years and I am convinced it is a very smart way to get around. While yes during this time I have had some accidents it has never scared my of riding a bike, it has just further convinced me that things need to improve in Brisbane towards making cycling a option for everyone. Whilst most people either hate or love Bicycle Queensland (http://www.bq.org.au/) there is one statement that needs to be made a reality. "Everyday Cycling Everyday"

Why the Blog name. A few years back a fellow worker gave it to me. You see when I ride to work I ride with no shirt on. (yes even winter)
Why
a. It's bloody hot (it's brisbane)
b. We have no showers at work

What will I be posting about, mostly cycling and Public Transport related issues of Brisbane. I intend to diverge every so often.