The Chainlink

Feel-Good Article About Why Cycling Makes Us So Happy

When I get busy with work and lack the motivation to go for a ride, I try to remember how much I enjoy taking pictures on the ride, how good I feel on the ride and after I am done. What makes you happy about riding your bike? Avoiding the CTA? Earned cookies? Earned beers? Exercise? Riding with friends?

Cycling is a beautiful sport. We hear it all the time. We experience it when we ride and race. For the ever-increasing number of us that have caught the cycling bug, we know how happy cycling makes us.

But what is it that makes us love cycling so much? Why are we so compulsively drawn to it? Why does cycling make us happy in a way that perhaps tennis, or swimming, or footy can’t?

The science of positive psychology investigates what makes life most worth living. Cycling seems to possess an array of attributes that boost happiness in ways that few other sports can claim. While many other sports may possess a small handful of these attributes, it seems that cycling may be one of very few that has them all.

Here are my 15 reasons cycling makes us happy based on the science of positive psychology:

http://cyclingtips.com/2015/02/why-cycling-makes-us-happy-the-posit...

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Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on January 19, 2016 at 10:00am

That thrill of commuting to work all properly geared up in such dangerously cold temps and arriving with the satisfaction of seeing steam emanate from the opened jacket ready to go in and get stuff done.

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on January 19, 2016 at 12:28pm
http:www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/why-cycling-makes-us-happy-the-po...

Yes, this is a great article to share. On a day like today I need it to remind me why cycling makes me happy when half my body feels frostbitten burnt. Bike winter!

Motivating myself to cycle in winter gives me a sense of accomplishment that I have overcome the difficulties the elements have put upon me, similar to the hurdles in life where we persevere and endure during a trying time in life.

Thinking positively, we may be over the harshest part of this winter and on the way up and able to escape out from our 'ice stations'.
Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on January 19, 2016 at 6:32pm

Bicycling brings back the child in me, and I often feel like I am a bird in flight. The endorphines and other chemicals that my body produces give me a mild, natural high. My body feels better and my mind is more alert on days that I ride. I save a ton of money over a car ($10,000 per year) or public transportation. It gives me time to think and work out the day's tribulations and my spiritual being. Sunday afternoon rides with my lady-friend are the best. I leave a very small carbon footprint. I love the challenge and accomplishment of foul-weather commutes. Most of all: I am happiest on a bike.

Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on January 21, 2016 at 9:01am

for me:

  1. Adventure
    not in the same way most would think but the adventure of the task, getting ready and riding the twelve miles to work under my own power, facing the obstacles of traffic, dealing with the weather
  2. Endorphin Response
    pushing hard and feeling it!
  3. Gear including bikes
    I just love the gear! I'm a gear junkie! Bikes are beautiful machines.
  4. Mechanic
    I like working on my bikes
  5. Vanity
    Helps keep me in shape!
Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on January 23, 2016 at 12:17am

For me, it's mostly about the endorphins. But biking is much less stressful on the body than running. Incredibly, biking is more efficient than walking. So in a very real sense, you're getting a free ride. I think people intuitively understand that, heightening the satisfaction of the experience.

Doctor's say anything that is good for your heart is also good for your brain. Biking is not a complete regimen, however. No single exercise is. Biking does nothing for the muscles or bones of your upper body, other than contorting them out of their natural alignment. 

Permalink Reply by Andrew St. Paul on January 23, 2016 at 5:09pm
Engaging the dips and rolls in the street to push my momentum. The sudden quick decisions my mind makes creating a buzz euphoria. Cutting a turn. Sitting in a a little tighter down a hill. Finally getting to my destination to have a beer and eat whatever the hell I want, because my body needs it. nom nom nom burrito
 I love seeing the joys of the day unfold from the seat of a bicycle. The glimpses of interactions between people as I ride by. However strange or happy they can be. To be able to collect all of it in... not too fast(car/Jet) and not to slow (eg.walking) to be able to see this city, I call home in action.
Riding with Friends... keeping up, blowing past them, side by side convo's
Riding with new people, checking out their gear and the friendly exchange. Talking with a woman and hearing her story about travelling across America and her cool handle bars.
And if I take myself  way... way back when I was just a kid. Thinking about riding my bike to new places and to new areas, the excitement and wonder, and the new discoveries.
Now as time grew, so did I, as well as the distance. Now I rode further, experiencing different neighborhoods, new people, new culture... and at the slow pace from a seat of a bicycle... understanding their world....and understanding my world, where you come from, where I come from, how your neighborhood may be similar or different. The connection of the surrounding communities around me.The development of actual seeing and learning about new places instead of hearing about them. How it enriches the soul.
I think about about the art of travel. I Think about a simple device, a vehicle of transport, called a Bicycle A mode of transportation for exploration and commuting. I'm Happy to see the world with a view outside my own.
Plus it just kicksass
Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on January 23, 2016 at 5:13pm

I really love what you wrote. So much happy. Thanks for sharing!

Permalink Reply by Andrew St. Paul on January 25, 2016 at 10:37am

Thank you for sharing the article and thanks a million for all the work you do with the Chainlink.

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on January 23, 2016 at 5:49pm

Nicely written.

Permalink Reply by Heather on January 24, 2016 at 3:56pm

This reminds me of when a late aunt incredulously asked me why I liked riding in the city so much. Feeling defensive, I sputtered something about the environmental aspects and the exercise . . . and then I realized the main reason is because it's fun. If it weren't, I wouldn't be doing it.

It really is an easy way to get that feeling of childhood freedom and fun. I also like how it forces you to slow down and better appreciate your surroundings, whether you have a view of trees, water, or architecture--or all three!

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