Dr. Allan Horowitz, published newspaper article, Richmond Hill Liberal, Copyright November 14, 1990

Dear Dr. Horowitz:

            I am supposed to investigate the beneficial health effects one will undergo after long distance bicycle riding.

This is a project for my phys-ed. class and I was wondering if you had any information you might be able to give me.

Anything at all would be great, as I am finding it hard to come up with any facts.

This sport tends to be much more popular in Europe and the North American literature tends to bypass this sport in its studies and investigations.

Can you help?

S.S. Toronto

Dear S.S.

            You are correct when you state that the literature is almost void of information regarding this sport. I was able to find one article which detailed a study done by the school of health, physical education and recreation at Bowling Green University.

This study was done to measure the effects of a four-week bicycle tour. Measurements were taken before and after the tour, which took 28 days.

The seven subjects rode their bikes 50 kilometers a day, four days a week, with resting and sightseeing done when they were not riding.

(Yes, this was a credit course which could actually be used as part of a university degree, and I can see everyone rushing to sign up at Bowling Green University at this moment).

Each rider carried his own equipment (tent, sleeping bag, tools, food, etc.) which totaled approximately 15 kilograms per person.

Before the ride began, the subjects were tested under four categories: physical characteristics, body composition, motor ability and cardiorespiratory measures.

The results showed that there were no significant weight changes in the subjects (men lost two per cent and women one per cent of their total body weight). The extension of the trunk (bending backwards) was decreased, as was the flexibility of the ankles. Trunk flexion (bending forward) was significantly increased.

The leg strength and left handgrip strength did not change much, but the right handgrip was decreased by eight per cent.

Maximum oxygen intake improved 10 per cent in men and 12 per cent in women.

Before the trip, the average time to exhaustion was seven minutes, 51 seconds.

After the trip it was nine minutes and 12 seconds (17 per cent increase).

Although leg strength did not improve, leg muscle endurance did.

In summary then, three men and four women, aged 19 to 60 were measured before and after a four-week bicycle trip to find the effects of the trip on their fitness level.

SMALL WEIGHT LOSS

            There was no significant body weight change, although they did lose 1.4 kg. on average.

The average girth of the waist measurement decreased by two per cent.

Trunk flexion increased and trunk extension and ankle flexibility decreased slightly. Resistance to higher work loads (university talk for how much work you can do before you get pooped) increased by 17 per cent.

I hope these statistics help you with your project. If you need more information, this study was done by Nora Yan-Shu Liu, PhD, at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

If anyone wants to sign up for a university education at Bowling Green University, the line forms to my left.