Lake District Sports - Lake District Cycling

Combine cycling with England's steepest hills and what have you got? Speed, excitement and aching leg muscles! But it doesn't have to be tough. Cumbria has an unparalleled network of country lanes, bridleways and cycle-paths that allow you to discover countryside and villages that the motorist hardly ever sees.

Escape the tourist trail with a day's cycle riding in the Eden Valley or the flatlands on the Solway Firth. Book a bike touring holiday or take on the famous C2C (Sea to Sea), or the 'Reivers' long distance route through the border country. With so many local hire companies and activity providers, you can set yourself a challenge - or just set your own pace.

Lake District Cycling Operators

Country Adventures, Country Lanes Ltd, CycleActive, Discovery Travel, Lakeland Camping Barns, River Deep Mountain High, Saddle Skedaddle, Water Park, Windermere Lake Cruises

World-wide, the vehicle most commonly used for transportation is a utility bicycle. Utility bicycles tend to have a more relaxed geometry, with priority given to the rider's comfort. Most come with components that make commuting by bicycle more practical, such as fenders (also called mudguards in some English speaking regions), racks (for mounting cargo bags or baskets), chainguards, kickstands, bells and generator light systems.

The two most popular types of bicycle are mountain bikes and road bicycles. They tend to have a more aggressive geometry which requires the rider to bend forward more. To reduce cost and weight, those types are usually sold without the components that make utility bicycles more practical.

The price of a new bicycle can range from £25 (on sale) to more than £5,000, depending primarily on the quality, type and weight (the most expensive road bicycles can weigh as little as 6 kg (13 lb).

Bicycles are commonly used by people seeking to improve their fitness and cardiovascular health. In this regard, bicycling is especially helpful for those with arthritis of the lower limbs and who are unable to pursue sports such as running that involve more impact to joints such as the knees.

Cycling while seated is a relatively non-weight bearing exercise that, like swimming, does little to promote leg bone strength. Cycling up and out of the saddle, on the other hand, does a better job by transferring more of the rider's body weight to the legs. This latter style of cycling is considered less energy-efficient, and can cause damage to the knees.

Endurance cycling is an Aerobic exercise, Sprint Cycling is an Anaerobic exercise, however both types involve both forms of exercise to some degree and can improve cardiovascular health. One measure of cardiovascular health is Vo2 max.

Cycling makes use of the largest muscles in the body (the Gluteus Maximus and Quadriceps) so it is good for people who are trying to lose body fat. Exercising at low intensity is better for people who want to lose weight as the body doesn't have the chance to burn fat at high work rates and will burn glycogen instead (although the body will replace the burnt glycogen by metabolising body fat as soon as it can - see Krebs cycle).

It has been estimated that, on average, approximately 20 life-years are gained from the health benefits of road bicycling for every life-year lost through injury ^[2].

Injuries can be divided into 2 types:

• Physical trauma (extrinsic)
• overuse (intrinsic).

Acute physical trauma includes injuries to the head and extremities resulting from falls and collisions.

Overuse injuries, including chronic nerve damage at weight bearing locations, can occur as a result of repeatedly riding a bicycle for extended periods of time. Damage to the ulnar nerve in the palm, the genitourinary tract or bicycle seat neuropathy may result from overuse. In extreme cases, Pudendal Nerve Entrapment can be a source of intractable perineal pain. Some bicyclists with induced pudendal nerve pressure neuropathy gained relief from improvements in saddle position and riding techniques.

Since a large percentage of the collisions between motor and pedal vehicles occur at night, bicycle lighting is required for safety when bicycling at night.