Taking a long ride on a motorcycle is an experience like none other, giving you time to reflect and appreciate the surrounding area. Unfortunately, many people fail to realize just how many advantages there are to taking long rides. Extended journeys on a motorcycle benefit the mind and body in some unexpected ways. But, if riding more than 400 to 500 miles per day is a new experience, take it slow at the onset to ensure your body and mind are ready for the long haul.
Excellent Low Impact Exercise
Riding on the open road is a stimulating experience and an exceptional low-impact exercise burning up to 600 calories per hour, depending on the terrain. This calorie consumption is no surprise to anyone taking a long motorcycle ride. But, riding a motorcycle takes more energy than it seems. After finishing a long ride, the body often feels substantially more tired than it felt at the beginning.
Maintaining balance with a motorcycle on a smooth road requires constant adjustments of the arms and shoulders. Riders also use the large muscles of the lower back, hips, and legs to counter the bike’s weight to keep things running smoothly. Riding in rugged, off-road conditions is even demanding on the body, requiring acute concentration to avoid potential hazards while steadying the bike over rough terrain, placing the neck in constant motion as it scans for danger.
The muscles running from the neck to the pelvis get a workout on long motorcycle rides due, in part, to constantly adjusting to wind resistance and changes in wind patterns. These motions strengthen muscles and joints in the trunk, helping improve posture and decrease lower back pain.
It’s no secret that exercise improves insulin sensitivity and lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by increasing glucose uptake. For people who ride motorcycles, this improvement in blood sugar levels lasts up to eight hours after they finish their ride. As a fat-storage hormone, insulin sensitivity has an extreme effect on weight loss, making it easier for people who regularly take long motorcycle rides to lose excess weight.
Significant Effect on Brain Health
Long motorcycle rides are great for the body. New research points to increased adrenaline levels and decreased cortisol, or stress hormone, levels when individuals ride motorcycles. Researchers concluded that riding a bike decreased the bio-markers for stress hormones by 25%. Motorcycle riding also releases dopamine and endorphins, the body’s happy hormones. This sequence of events helps explain why many bikers feel an instant calm as they ride off on a motorcycle.
These stress-reducing benefits could result from more time spent outside and the mood boost from sun exposure and vitamin D. As an essential nutrient, vitamin D is crucial to the proper function of the heart, brain, and immune system. Humans absorb this vitamin with sun exposure before the body moves it to the kidneys and liver for active use. Vitamin D deficiencies lead to depression, anxiety, and several other heart, bone, and mental disorders.
Time to Unplug
Motorcycling offers relief from many of the stressors of our modern world. It can provide an opportunity to break away from the constant demands of a technological world and enjoy breathing fresh air, appreciate the beauty of a stunning sunset, and take advantage of connecting with nature.
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