Women on wheels
Group meets to encourage more use of bicycles, overall wellbeing
Program aims to promote biking, wellness for women
Allan Collie recommends two things for improving one’s biking abilities and experience.
The first is keeping a bicycle journal, and the second is tweaking cadence.
“Everybody will have a natural cadence, but if you can increase it, it will make it easier on your legs,” he said.
Collie was the guest speaker at a Women on Wheels session on Friday at the Pictou branch of the Pictou Antigonish Regional Library. Organized by Pictou Recreation and Parks, the group meets weekly throughout the spring, summer and fall.
Michelle Young of Pictou Recreation said the goal of Women on Wheels is getting women out to enjoy biking and to promote overall wellbeing.
Collie, a self-taught cycling enthusiast from Greenhill, got back into the sport recently after years away from it.
To celebrate Canada 150, he set a goal of cycling 1,500 km, which he completed before July 1. He’s now biked about 2,500 km so far this year.
“I just love it. I try to get out about four times a week,” he said.
Collie said keeping track of the number of kilometres a person has biked in a journal shows progression. “It allows you to set some goals.”
In his cycling journal, he also notes the routes he’s taken and the weather, because that can affect the speed and distance travelled. “Wind is a big factor.”
Cadence is the rate at which a cyclist pedals, or the number of pedal revolutions per minute. Increasing cadence improves efficiency, allowing a cyclist to pedal for longer, faster.
“A higher cadence is easier on your knees and the rest of your body because you’re doing less work,” he said.
Pedalling faster puts less strain on muscles with each stroke. Riding in a lower gear uses muscles that burn fat for fuel, are resistant to fatigue and recover quickly when allowed to rest. Studies show that a higher cadence means an increase in blood flow to the muscles, which means more oxygen in the blood and a higher aerobic performance.
A low cadence at a high gear is more taxing on the muscles, using muscles that burn glycogen for fuel, fatigue quickly and take a long time to recover. This means muscle strength doesn’t last as long.
Aiming for 90 rpm is a good goal to avoid leg fatigue, but changing cadence is a long process, often taking several months. To determine cadence, count the number of times the right knee comes up in 30 seconds, and double that number.
“If you want to drive far, get your cadence increased and you’ll be able to go farther easier,” said Collie.
Young said Women on Wheels has about 17 people registered, with between five and seven attending on average each week. For women of all ages, participants can drop in to
“encourage and support each other.”
“Biking is activity you can do at your own leisure any time, but it’s always nice to have a group of like-minded folks around to enjoy that with,” said Young.
The group meets at the library to discuss topics around biking such as safety and maintenance, and then they go for a ride – often on the Jitney Trail – but they’ve also gone to Caribou Island.
Participant Janice Rowat said she enjoys the social part and the chance to meet new people. “It gets you out and it’s good exercise.”
She also likes the drop-in aspect and that it’s free.