81-year-old Man Rides Bike 30 Miles A Day
An Australian octogenarian named Noel rides his bike about thirty miles a day (50 km). That might not be so impressive for a young person, but he is 81.
So Noel’s daily habit might seem kind of extreme, but it actually may be all the sitting we modern humans do that is out of wack. Spending a lot of time sitting is apparently as bad for our health as smoking. Noel rides alone for some of the distance and with a group of women at other times. The social component is important, because it can help us to adopt new habits, and is good for happiness.
“Here’s a tip: If you want to unlearn old habits and develop new healthy living habits, spend time with people who practice the habits you want. Your choice of friends and acquaintances is a powerful influence on your behavior. If you want to be a habitual exerciser, keep company with people who exercise regularly and enjoy it,” explained Dr. Weil.
Aerobic exercise has been shown by research to increase new brain cells as well. So biking is not just a physical experience, it also impacts our brain function.
“Early studies in humans clearly established a link between exercise and older adults between the ages of 55 and 80. Brain scans showed that participants who engaged in regular aerobic exercise (3 hours per week for 6 months) increased brain volume in the frontal and temporal areas which are involved in executive control and memory processes.” (Womens Cycling)
Of course, it helps very much to wear a helmet while biking. Otherwise, the risk for brain injury during accidents is greatly increased.In the source’s photo, Noel is thankfully wearing his helmet.
Some people can’t ride bikes, because they lack the ability to balance them. However, there are three-wheeled trikes they can use. An LA area man over 100 years old was riding one a couple of years ago and was mentioned in the LA Times.
Of course, anyone who spends time outdoors must take care to prevent skin cancer by wearing hats or sunscreen. Sunglasses are good too, if they have polarized lenses to block UVB and UVA rays.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
Showoff
What all does he pack in those panniers?
Wearng a helmet while cycling is a very good idea. Unfortunately requiring a helmet really complicates bike share programs. It may be worthwhile to allow an exception for such programs or for low speed cycling in general. This will result in some people suffering from gravel rash of the dura mater, but result in overall improved health thanks to greater rates of cycling.
Riding slow does not mean you won’t get launched into space by a vehicle.
There are solutions for helmets and rental bikes. Rental helmets with disposable liners, for one.
Also, someone markets an inflatable helmet that one could carry with them.
People will definitely end up with more gravel in their braincases if they don’t wear helmets, but given that we have limited resources to improve public health more health may be gained than lost by introducing some helmet exceptions if it increases the cycling rate sufficently. And the exceptions could be quite limited. For example, bike share cycles on single use bikeways. If we can increase the rate at which office workers to cycle from the train station to their workplace instead of driving their cars there is a lot of win to be had. Of course one would want to ensure that the benefits actually are there and not base helmet exceptions on the rantings on the internet by some guy with a tree growing out of his head.
I’d rather not wear a helmet and please do not force me to.
Too late. It’s da law. Failure to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle in Australia can result in a $176 fine or five years service in the spider fighting gladatorium.
Sigh. When I think of Australia I think of a huge country much like Africa where you can be free from big brother. Where you can wander about for days on end without being bothered.
Well, there’s certainly lots of room for wandering in. We just tend not to do that too much on account of how it can be fatal. Tell you what, I’ll go for a walk now and let you know what dangers I encounter.
I was hit by a swarm of bees. Not what I was expecting.
While you were walking I have been listening to Musk’s talk at Stanford earlier this week on youtube. Around 25 minutes into it things got funny. How things would not go well talking about electric vehicles on dates while still in Canada. Or how Larry Page talks wistfully about how he would want to have his money go to Musk if he were hit by a bus. And his shareholders reactions when he said “Profits are not our primary goal”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MBItc_QAUUM
Oh right, Elon Musk. Engineer. Nuff said.
Many people do ship cruises because they don’t realize there is also a bike cruise industry. For those this link might be helpful http://www.trektravel.com/collections/new/ because they are basic and easy.