If you’re an elite cyclist or a fan of small bike tours, don’t measure your passion for cycling in miles, but in the happiness every pedal gives you.
It doesn’t matter if you started to cycling since you were a child or if your pleasure for cycling got to your life in a more mature age. It happened the same to all bike fans, and from then, our way to ride around the world was never the same.
And is not a metaphor. As we discover the advantages and pleasures of riding in two wheels, every time we have to go to a place, we ask to ourselves “How much time it will take by bike? Even before thinking to move by public transport or car…
And, sometimes a simple errand to the supermarket or convenience store, can be more pleasant by bike than walking, are just one or two minutes of tour.
But, have you ever wondering what this addiction to pedaling is due to? Of course, it all comes down to pleasure, but there’s a little science after that, join us and discover what occurs inside your body to awake your love for cycling.
Passion for cycling, pleasure or addiction?
If you have to answer if your mania for cycling is an acquired taste or an addiction, what you would say? Relax, in this case, both situations join the one to the other, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
However, you have to make a little memory exercise and remember how you started to ride by bike being part of your daily life. Once you remember that, ask yourself… in what moment the need of transport by two wheels become into a passion.
Nowadays, your need for pedaling can be so into your life, that the simple and easy idea of move in other mean instead of bike makes you feel uncomfortable.
Science has an answer for that. Passion for cycling or bike addition, this has two theories. Both are difficult to understand and very interesting. We explain you them here…
Distraction hypothesis
More than a theory, maybe the reason of why many started to use bike. The simple fact of pedaling in outdoors, it has a liberating effect, above all, when our works or daily duties require to spend so much time among walls.
Riding by bike causes a distraction sensation that, as a result make our mind release for a moment from stress. We can forget for a while, of work, family and love issues. In short, is an activity that allows the disconnection.
Some studies indicate, that, among other benefits, passion for cycling can help to reduce anger, headaches, anxiety, tensions and, instead, increase confidence, daily performance, memory and self-perception.
Endorphins theory
The first theory might explain that cycling is a pleasure, this second explains a bit better if is an addiction, but not in a bad way.
Science indicates that, by enjoying a ride by bike, without mattering the distance of this, brain releases endorphins that reduce pain and can cause a euphoric state. This last can cause the desire to cover longer distances.
These endorphins achieve that our mood improves, as reduce depression. In addition, cycling is the sport that achieve a greater and better brain oxygenation, releasing dopamine.
Finally, dopamine is linked to pleasure. Thanks to that we can generate certain addiction to what causes it, in this case, sport, specifically cycling.
But, as we mentioned, your passion for cycling doesn’t have to worry you. After all, in many occasions, sport can be a therapeutic method to heal addictions to damaging substances. This is thanks to physical activity, a healthy and natural way to generate endorphins.
However, remember to perform with moderation all the activities and without demanding more of yourself to hurt you. If you want to explore more psychological benefits that cycling generates, you can do it here.
