Do something for your health and for nature: try cycling
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Along with walking and spending time in nature, cycling is becoming an increasingly popular form of recreation, sport, socialising and even tourism, known as cycle tourism. Originally designed as a means of transport that is still useful in many situations today (including where a car is not), cycling could be the answer to many of the consequences of today’s sedentary lifestyle, among which obesity, a tendency to gain weight and diabetes are increasingly common.
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According to a 2009 World Health Organization report, the best way to improve general public health is to increase physical activity, and cycling is exactly the answer to that. So it is no wonder that it is also practised as a discipline in the official programme of the Olympic Games.
As well as being practical, economical and environmentally friendly, it promotes a healthy lifestyle with many benefits for our mental and physical health, just like walking, only five times more effective. If you cycle for 25 minutes a day instead of driving, you will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 165 kg a year, as well as fuel consumption, noise and traffic congestion in general. On the other hand, cycling can extend your life expectancy by up to 14 months. Just like swimming, it is recommended for people of all ages, including older people, because it does not strain the knees and other joints, while it improves the work of the heart and circulatory system.
Increasingly popular cycle tourism promotes active travel and visiting the natural beauty and cultural attractions of a place, all by bike. On a bike you get to know a country’s sights better than by car, you have more freedom of movement (and parking), and you still save the time and energy you would spend walking. What’s more, according to estimates, tourists who travel by bike, so-called cycle tourists, spend on average 30% more than other tourists. So, just as with camping (link), adjectives such as cheap, hipster and the like are less and less associated with this kind of activity. On the contrary, people who practise it are considered to have good spending power, to be well educated and to enjoy socialising in groups. That is why, alongside various types of cycling (sport, sport and recreational, mountain, road, cyclo-cross, trial, artistic…), one type growing ever more popular today is family cycling.
In Europe, especially in countries such as France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, bikes are used as the main means of transport, especially to get to work and school. As many as 41 million Europeans use bikes, while worldwide the figure exceeds 1 trillion users, most of them in China and Japan. This number has probably risen recently, given that in crises such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, bikes are a practical and safe means of transport that is also good for cyclists’ health. In New York, for example, the number of bike journeys around the city had doubled as early as the beginning of March.
Cycling improves physical health, above all circulation and heart function, and thanks to the greater flow of oxygen to the brain, memory improves (after just 30 minutes of riding), more muscle groups are activated and unwanted kilos come off faster. In addition, mental health improves too and your mood lifts, thanks to the increased release of endorphins, the hormones of happiness and pleasure.
Today’s eco trend increasingly means electric bikes. They are just like classic bikes, with the addition of a rechargeable battery and an electric motor that is activated by pedalling, so these e-bikes, as they are called, make cycling easier and help you cover longer distances with less fatigue.
Among the services of Camping Plitvice you will find e-bike hire, and we must also tell you that the surrounding area is very popular with cycling enthusiasts. So we advise you to try cycling and do a lot for your health and for nature.