The benefits of cycling

1) Maintain a healthy weight
Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight, burn calories and help tone and strengthen your muscles.

2) Discover new places
There are plenty of beautiful cycling routes to try across the country or explore your local area, you may discover somewhere new you didn’t even realise was there.

3) Reduce stress
It’s the perfect way to zone-out and rid yourself of any daily stress. Plus, the exercise-induced endorphins released will leave you feeling better than ever by helping to improve your mood.

4) Get your friends together
A group ride is the perfect excuse to get your friends and family together. Make a day of it and take breaks along the way to make it an enjoyable experience.

5) Lower blood pressure
Being active can help to lower blood pressure and prevent high blood pressure. This helps to lower your risk of heart problems in the future.

6) Increase energy levels
You might sometimes feel like you’re too tired to get out and cycle, but keeping active can actually boost your energy and help you feel less tired in the long term. 

7) Improve sleep
Adding more activity to your daily routine can help improve the quality of your sleep, meaning you feel more rested in the morning. But be careful that you don’t exercise vigorously too close to bedtime, as this might keep you awake.

8) Saves the planet
You can do your bit for climate change by choosing to ditch the car or train for your bike instead and avoid carbon emissions.

9) Burn calories
on average you’ll burn between 450 to 750 calories per hour of cycling, dependent on weight, speed and time.

10) Help beat cancer
Remember the money you raise from taking part in the challenge will help fund life-saving research, bringing the cure to cancer one step closer.