Winter Park is Celebrating Florida Bike Month

Spring is around the corner in Winter Park, which means flowers are blooming, the air is fresh and anew, and more people are out and about. In celebration of Bike to Work Day and Florida Bike Month, you can join the City of Winter Park on a scenic bike ride through the city. The “Bike Winter Park” event will take place on Thursday, March, 7. Get your gear and join the group!

“Bike Winter Park” will kick off the ride at Garfield Avenue behind the main stage in Central Park. Check-in begins at 3:30 p.m. with riders ending the route at 5 p.m. at Park Social, located at 358 N. Park Avenue. Riders are encouraged to gather at 3:30 p.m. on Garfield Avenue (behind the Central Park main stage) for the ride beginning at 4 p.m. The ride will be followed by a gathering at Park Social for cyclists. A FREE bike corral/valet for participants will be available from 3:30 to 8 p.m. A rain date will be Friday, March 8. The ride itself will begin at 4 p.m. and follow the above route. Riders must all be 18 years of age and up to participate.

Besides taking the scenic route, going on a group bike ride through Winter Park will do wonders for your physical health and well being:

1. It’s easy on the joints

When you sit on a bike, you put your weight on a pair of bones in the pelvis called the ischial tuberosities, unlike walking, when you put your weight on your legs. This makes it good for anyone with joint pain or age-related stiffness.

2. Pushing pedals provides an aerobic workout

That’s great for your heart, brain, and blood vessels. Aerobic exercise also triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s feel-good chemicals—which may make you feel young at heart.

3. Cycling builds muscle

In the power phase of pedaling (the downstroke), you use the gluteus muscles in the buttocks, the quadriceps in the thighs, and the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in the calves. In the recovery phase (backstroke, up-stroke, and overstroke), you use the hamstrings in the back of the thighs and the flexor muscles in the front of the hips.

Cycling works other muscles, too. You use abdominal muscles to balance and stay upright, and you use your arm and shoulder muscles to hold the handlebars and steer.

4. It helps with everyday activities

Biking will help strengthen you for everyday activities: balance, walking, standing, endurance, and stair climbing

5. Pedaling builds bone

Resistance activities, such as pushing pedals, pull on the muscles, and then the muscles pull on the bone, which increases bone density,

 

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