The Majority of Adults don't exercise enough apparently

[HJ]

Link to the news item here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8120726.stm

Some quotes from the article:



So how come they didn't mention commuting to work by bike... that must be getting me my 30 mins daily easily.

Getting back to your question (having side tracked), probably because the press release from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) promoting their new Easy exercise guide leaflet doesn't make any mention of cycle commuting. Although it does make one fleeting mention of cycling right a the bottom, you can't expect a lazy journalist to read it all the way though, think about it or for that matter do a wee bit of background research, before rewriting the press release and calling it news.

I blame the CSP for not including the suggestion of cycle commuting in either their press release or the Easy exercise guide leaflet. We should all send them an e-mail (enquiries@csp.org.uk) and point out their error...

In the words of US Congressman Earl Blumenauer "Let's have a minute's silence for all those people who are sitting in traffic on the way to the gym to ride a stationary bicycle".

 

[shunter]

What a load of bollocks...

Break the law and you pay a fine, the fact that speed cameras are used to catch criminals has nothing to do with tax. If you don't want to be fined, don't break the law, tax of the other hand has to be paid...

Easier way to do it - put speed limiters on all vehicles as government has been proposing. Already tested on motorcycles! No need for cameras then. When you do that then there would be no need for vehicles that go above 80mph - drop engine size for family cars etc, save petrol, lower CO2 emissions.

What % of the driving population do you reckon sticks absolutely within all the speed limits on the road? What % are potential 'criminals' for the future?

 

[marinyork]

Politics & Life is that way -->

@Hairy Jock. Would you expect the CSP to mention cycling much? I'm not sure I would.

 

[shunter]

Politics & Life is that way -->

.

Anyway, I don't think you are going to convince the majority of motorists that commuting on a bicycle would be a safe activity. Although I believe if they gave it a go motorists would gain a recognition of their vunerability and therefore adjust their driving habits in the presence of other cyclists in future. The other issue is what distance of a commute could you sell to motorists as a viable distance - up to 10 miles each way? I suspect a large number of potential cycling commuters may not realise their own potential. Ok, you could encourage folks with the 'even one day a week would make a difference' but would they spend money on a bike and gear for just one day.

I think extending the 'cycle to work' scheme would help to encourage more but to be honest my own government department here has been reluctant to adopt it even with several workers querying it with them - just some buck passing. Mind you they are supporting an interdepartmental football competition.

 

[marinyork]

Yes. I agree the public are now very risk averse and see cycling as a primarily dangerous activity. However from the point of view of regular structured exercise, apart from walking a lot of the alternatives have been taken away or made more expensive.

The C2W scheme does need extending. I'm concerned not only about the reticence some companies/public sector departments show but also bicycle inflation and the scheme staying fixed at what was (the very reasonable) £1000.

I don't think you can really guess commute distances. Some places are very flat and so a 10 mile commute is perfectly doable, other places are so hilly 3 or 4 would be pretty good. People vary a lot too.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Yes. I agree the public are now very risk averse and see cycling as a primarily dangerous activity. However from the point of view of regular structured exercise, apart from walking a lot of the alternatives have been taken away or made more expensive.

The C2W scheme does need extending. I'm concerned not only about the reticence some companies/public sector departments show but also bicycle inflation and the scheme staying fixed at what was (the very reasonable) £1000. <snip>

.. not only are the public risk averse, they (well, humans overall) are generally recognised as being rubbish at probabilities, let alone weighing up different risks.

Even people that should know better can get caught out if they're not paying attention. We just don't seem to have a "feel" for what all those numbers mean.

Tell me about reticence for the C2W!! I'm trying to get it introduced and struggling.

 

[summerdays]

I think most adults or children that I meet are always surprised what distance I may have cycled and also by how quickly I've done it (usually I could of walked the distance in the time they think it would take to cycle it).

And how come they never ask me how much exercise I do... somehow they miss me out.

 

[marinyork]

It's comedy the looks I get off people when I say I've cycled the 3 miles (three whole ones!) back home from one bit of town or from (a bit further) town itself. Then if they are really interested the conversation gets onto what hill you use .

 

[2Loose]

It's comedy the looks I get off people when I say I've cycled the 3 miles (three whole ones!) back home from one bit of town or from (a bit further) town itself. Then if they are really interested the conversation gets onto what hill you use .

LoL - I had someone insist that I was not to cycle the whole 4 miles to theirs because it would be quicker for them to use 2 buses and that I shouldn't put myself out so much. It took them an hour and a half to turn up and they seemed a bit miffed when I told them that it was only a 15-20 minute bike trip. 'Oh but you must get tired' - not when I have an hour and a quarter to recover it doesn't!

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

LoL - I had someone insist that I was not to cycle the whole 4 miles to theirs because it would be quicker for them to use 2 buses and that I shouldn't put myself out so much. It took them an hour and a half to turn up and they seemed a bit miffed when I told them that it was only a 15-20 minute bike trip. 'Oh but you must get tired' - not when I have an hour and a quarter to recover it doesn't!

We had a similar thread a while ago when someone remembered encountering a family getting out of their car in the car park for some landmark or other. They were all looking around confused and a bit miffed, so the FM enquired as to what was causing their consternation. "We're looking for whatever-it-was", came the reply .. "oh yes, you need to follow that path down there for about half a mile" responded the FM.

"HALF A MILE !!?? HALF A B****Y MILE!! How the HELL are THEY supposed to walk that far" said the visitor, indicating his two perfectly healthy late primary school age kids.

Something along those lines anyway ..

 

[HJ]

@Hairy Jock. Would you expect the CSP to mention cycling much? I'm not sure I would.

When the organisation is trying to "to highlight the importance of exercise in maintaining good health and preventing illness. To encourage people to be more physically active" then yes. I would suggest that encouraging people to try cycling to work is a good way of getting regular exercise as pert of a busy lifestyle. Sadly few people realise just how much quicker take the bike is when compared to drive in town. I suspect this includes many physiotherapists, the last time I went to a hospital Physiotherapy department there was no problem find space the cycle parking, it was empty...

Sadly most seem to equate the idea of taking exercise with going to a gym, and then complain that they don't have time. As I said above in the words of US Congressman Earl Blumenauer "Let's have a minute's silence for all those people who are sitting in traffic on the way to the gym to ride a stationary bicycle"...

 

[palinurus]

I can understand the attraction of not doing any exercise. I took the bus today 'cos my knee was complaining. It was great! I got to work and made straight for the disabled crapper only to find out I was ready-dressed. I had time to laze around drinking coffee and reading the paper. And I got about a third of a novel done on the way home.

 

[palinurus]

I mean like reading one. Not writing it.

 

[shunter]

I got to work and made straight for the disabled crapper only to find out I was ready-dressed. .

I use the disable crapper as well to change - I wonder if this is a common theme among cyclists

 

[BSA]

I use the disable crapper as well to change - I wonder if this is a common theme among cyclists

Only for you posh people who have the luxury of a "disabled crapper" I have to make do with a standard crapper cubicle.