And, unlike many other sports, the strain on your body is actually a lot less when you ride a bike. Your joint don’t suffer, it is not a competitive sport, there is no physical contact here and you can really enjoy in it as both as an individual, but also, and I am an avid supporter of this, in a group.

Of course, the more you do this, the more calories will you burn. This, of course, depends on how dedicated you are to that task. But unlike doing pushups or lifting weights that, let’s face it, no one likes to do, unless they actually do any sport and its their job to do that, you will most likely enjoy cycling a lot more and come back to it over and over.

Most cyclist can go for a good two hours ride. In terms of mileage, I know of guys that can go anywhere from 50 miles to 500 miles without making a single break. Of course, no one is telling you to go across your state (would be great if you could), but the more you can ride, the better effect it will have. Start small, if you can just do a mile or two don’t get discouraged by that, just keep going at it every day.

Let’s compare riding a bicycle for one hour with some other exercises and activities. A one hour of riding a bicycle at 12 miles per hour will burn 725 calories. Running for one hour at a pace of 10 miles per hour equals 910 cals lost. A one hour of 2 on 2 basket with your friends – 725 calories. One hour of rowing – 860 calories. Jumping a rope for one hour – 908 calories. Aerobics – 544 calories and down at the bottom of the list is weight lifting, which will help you lose “just” 275 calories after a full hour. Like you can see, riding a bicycle is just there with the rest of them and this is even if we don’t include hills, turns and wind. In that case, the amount of burnt calories goes even higher and it is about 900 for the same amount of time and mileage.

Thanks to bicycling, you can lose a lot of weight, but will also get in shape fast. Now, you can do this by yourself, that’s really easy, all you have to do is buy a bicycle, if you don’t own one and pick a route every day, but I think that you will enjoy it a lot better if you join a cycling club.

But you know, I wasn’t always like that. There was a time when I would exercise every morning and go out to ride my bike. But then, you know how it usually goes, you get married, get one kid, then another and by the time you can get yourself together, my bike was gathering dust in the garage and I was driving a car to buy a soda and a pack of cigarettes (yeah, I was really like that for a while).

But then, what happened changed my view of life. I didn’t have any near-death experiences, like a stroke, heart attack or anything like that, fortunately, but I was getting pretty close to it. At least that is what my doctor told me. And I had no reason not to believe him.

The next thing that I did was to start exercising again. Alone. Now that did;t go so well. Like I said, I couldn’t run for very long. But, I was determined to persist in this and to finally get my body in shape. So I kept going, first with jogging, but then I turned to my old love, bicycles. I got my old bike out of the garage and started riding it every morning and evening, all the time increasing the distance that I traveled.

However, all this time, there was something holding me down and not letting me to improve my performance more. at first, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but when I saw a group of cyclists one day, there were five of them, all talking and laughing as they rode their bikes, it finally hit me. Cycling is much better when it is done in a group! So when they stopped near my bench in the park, I approached one of them and ask them if they were from any local club. To this, the guy, who actually turned out to be an instructor (can you believe it, the rest of them were just beginners and they seemed to enjoy riding their bikes a lot more than I did!) told me that they are all from a local club called Pennyrille Area Cyclists. And gave me the address if I wanted to visit it.

Next day, I went there, signed up as the 362nd member, got my membership card and even a bike and gear of my own. Now, I ride with them every week.

In a well organized cycle club, like Pennyrille Area Cycle Club, the problems that I have listed above are completely non-existent. Everybody here, from the staff, the instructors and trainers, to the other members of the club will make you feel really included and welcome. Even though a bicycle has only one seat, cyclists are always willing to look after each other.

If you are worried about your fitness, you really don’t need to be. Most other members are just like you, average blokes that have “let go of themselves a little”. People come here because they love riding their bicycles and they love being with other people, the fitness part comes in last. There’s actually only a few of the guys and girls that are truly “dedicated” to staying fit and are commuted. The rest of the members are there just for fun.

Pennyrille Area Cycle Club is not about your cycling ability. If you can ride a bicycle and you probably can, you are fully welcome here. This is actually about connecting with the other people and sharing your passion for this great hobby or sport.

There are many types of cycle clubs and you should really look around your area for what you will feel the most comfortable joining. Ask in your local bike shop and they will be able to give you a lot of info about this. Pennyrille Area Cycle offers its members not only the opportunity to ride a bike and enjoy a great exercise (indeed cycling is on of the best ways to stay physically fit), but also to get together with other guys and girls that love bikes like you do. Also, if you are a beginner, there is nothing that you have to be worried about as the club caters for its beginner riders. Out of 50-60 members that it has every year, from 2005, when it has been established, PAC had at least a fifth if not more of that number being people who have never rode a bicycle in their life before.

Apart from getting your body in a tip-top shape, you’ll also meet many new friends here. Those are just two of the many reasons why joining the Pennyrille Area Cycle Club is very good thing for you to do.