When Is The Best Time To Cycle?
Is it better to bike at night or have a morning ride instead? Perhaps somewhere in between?
Generally, the best time to ride your bike is whenever you can fit it into your busy schedule. But those times can depend on other riders, especially those who are out for maximum gains.
If you have a goal in mind, such as weight loss or improving your speed, having a monthly cycle routine helps. But suppose it's for leisure; you can ride simply when you have time. Whether it's a day cycle, afternoon or night ride.
Either way, cycling can be very subjective, but it won't hurt to know what the early birds and night owls have to say!
Morning or Day Cycling
If you're a morning person and shooting for weight loss, rise and ride early. Just remember, a warm-up is required to kick off in the morning cold.
Unless you're going for a long ride, you don't have to eat first, but be sure to stay hydrated. A study found that cyclists who did a moderate workout before breakfast burned 20% more fat.
Moreover, they were also less hungry later in the day than those who had their morning meal first. Hitting the road before your first cup of coffee also comes with promising benefits.
Benefits of morning rides
Early birds have named the following benefits of day cycling:
First, it gets your body and brain fired up for the day. A brain functioning in a beta state is essentially on high alert.
When you're in this state, you make better decisions and give tasks your full focus. Cycling in the morning might just get your brain ready to take on the day!
Second, it boosts your metabolism. Regular morning cycle rides help your body become more adept at using food and fat for fuel.
Starting today, aim for a faster, early morning ride into your fitness routine. Burn more calories and get rid of those unwanted body fat, glucose levels and weight gain
Plus, cycling is a great form of meditation. Mornings exercise can give our minds that sense of quiet and a feeling of freshness. Take advantage of the early day to cycle and put your brain in a meditative state. The following positive effects include reducing anxiety and stress and increasing your well-being.
Morning cycling also gives you a sense of accomplishment. Hitting this goal first thing in the morning sets a positive tone for the rest of the day.
Finally, one of the best perks is you don't have to sit in the traffic when commuting! If you go to work early in the day, trade your car or bus ride for a mountain bike or any bike with pedals.
Go for that much lower impact form of transportation against the busy roads. After all, who wouldn’t want to swap burning gasoline for burning fat?
Evening Cycling (Bike at Night)
Night owls are exactly the opposite of early bird bikers. In a study, biking at night significantly increases speed and performance.
Those who commute after work find their body and mind more awake and warmed up. Their energy levels are more up to the task. In contrast to the three minutes before their morning cycling process or session.
What's more, recovering after a bike at night means relaxing on the couch rather than going to work. Even better, sleep is only a matter of hours away!
Benefits of night rides
Like morning rides, many benefits come with a night bike ride. These perks can positively affect your mind, body, and soul.
Night ‘road users’ or those who love riding later in the day means:
First, night cycling is a nice way to end the day. Those who work full-time jobs deserve some time to themselves. And going out for a ride, feeling the cool breeze, is a fantastic ‘breather’ - free of charge.
Second, you look forward to it after a busy day. For many, cycling is their way of escape from the hustle and bustle.
Night cycling gives them the nice and quiet they need. Taking that relaxing night bike ride and being with their thoughts.
Next, there's no need to wait for the weekend. Night owls find daytime bike riding too tiring, at least on their part.
For one, their ammonia levels are drained from the morning ride to coming home from work at night. They'd rather hit the bed than the pedal.
This convinced them to go out for a nice bike ride on the weekends instead. But ever since they added the night bike ride to their routines, they've been less and less tempted to forgo it.
Night cycling is also a perfect way to make up for your missed morning workout. It can get pretty challenging to keep up with a fitness routine that requires time out of your day.
But evening cycling is a form of exercise that you do to stay on track with your fitness routine.
Finally, you're so close to sleep! What makes cycling at night an exciting time of the day is you can go straight to bed. (Of course, after you wash up yourself!)
You don't have to feel the guilt of leaving your mattress behind for work. It'll be a good kind of exhaustion, where your body gets to relax, recuperate and re-energise.
When you wake up, you'll be fully refreshed in the morning.
Safety for cycling at night:
- Use an appropriate bike light (equip your bike with a rear light)
- Ride where you can be seen
- Consider adding these bike gear and attachments
- Wear reflective clothing
- Always wear your bike helmet (including during morning rides)
- Be mindful of the busy roads and familiarise yourself with the stoplight (red, orange, and green light)
Round-up
It turns out that the time of day you cycle can make a difference. Although we get pretty busy, finding the time to ride can add a big drain on your cycling process.
We can’t promise that waking up to your early alarm without hitting snooze will be easy. But if you make an effort to fit in an early ride occasionally, you’ll be glad you did.
For bike night right, riding in the evening is best - for interval training at least. If you're trying for gains in speed, opt for this time of the day
Anyhow, be it a day cycling, training in the afternoon, or cycling at night, the ideal time is what works best for you! If you're riding to lose weight or improve overall fitness levels, you can ride anytime.
But if you don’t have a set time, try both morning and evening and let us know in the comments below which feels better!
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