The Healthiest Rides/Trips vs. The Ideal

JonDouglas · Feb 17, 2021

When asked, "What is your ideal trip or ride?", I might be tempted to say something like "Crossing the Tirol" or " Riding down to Garmish Partenkirchen for some schnitzel at Cafe Mukkefuck" (a real place, BTW) or "Taking the Gotthard Pass from Andermatt to Airolo and down, avoiding the base tunnel". I always liked those parts of Europe; however, pleasant thoughts of such scenic rides are quickly offset by realities of the cost, stress and logistics of getting there. Closer to home, I've always liked riding in the woods - a constant since first learning to ride a bicycle. There was always something quite special and pleasant about being in and riding through a forest. As a young child, I would take my bicycle miles out of town just to ride through unpaved roads in an area forest preserve. Still doing it today on a motorcycle, I couldn't explain the sanity of it to anyone - until recently. Now I better understand why a forest is so appealing

Walking or riding in the woods can have a significant impact on your health and well being. Specifically, studies show that exposure to forests and trees:

lowers your blood pressures
boosts the immune system
accelerates recovery from illness or surgery
reduces stress
improves your mood
increases ability to focus, even in children with ADHD
increases energy
improves sleep.

I don't have to go far and can stay as long as I want. It's both the healthiest and ideal ride. I wonder about the extent to which oxygen given off by trees increases your blood oxygen.

hollydolly · Feb 17, 2021

Well that's very good news because I have large woods only minutes walk from my house.. and I go there often.....

Dana · Feb 17, 2021

There is nothing more spiritually uplifting (IMO) than to spend time among trees. We go for long hikes in the Aussie forests and even have a little shack among the gum trees!

asp3 · Feb 17, 2021

I'm more drawn to bicycle trails or roads next to water. One of our favorite rides is taking the bicycle trail from Seaside, CA along the Monterey Bay, through Monterey to Pacific Grove. We also like the portions of the 17 Mile Drive that are next to the ocean even though one shares the road with cars.

Another favorite water related bicycle ride is along the Truckee River from Tahoe City to Olympic Valley (which used to be called Squaw Valley.) It's a very pleasant ride with a gentle grade throughout most of the ride. There are a few steeper hills but they're relatively short and can be walked if necessary. It's all paved trail. It is close to the highway but most of the time one doesn't even see or hear the highway.

One of our favorite vacation rides was in Adelaide, Australia where we rode from the downtown area to Henley Beach along the Karrawirra Parri (River?).

We also had a great ride on the Confederation Trail on Prince Edward Island from Charlottetown to some point along the trail and back when we stopped there on a cruise. Although it wasn't along the water or through the woods it was really cool because there were a lot of wild apple trees along the way. The trail is built over old train track paths where the rails have been removed and a path has been put in it's place. People used to throw their apples out the windows of the train and as a result apple trees grow along the path. The path is 449 km long and travels the length of the island with spurs going out to various towns and regions. My wife and I think we'd love to go back there and ride most of the trail stopping in cities and towns to spend the night.

Close to home there is a trail along the Guadalupe River from downtown San Jose out to Alviso. Once in Alviso one can ride out on the dikes that make up the old salt evaporation ponds at the south end of the San Francisco Bay. From the spring through the fall we ride the trail and along the dikes several times a month. Once one gets beyond the short loop around the dikes the number of people on the trail decreases dramatically and one has a lot of it pretty much to yourselves and one to three dozen people on sees along the way.

During normal years there are trams with room for people's bicycles that one can take to the top of the mountains in the Mammoth Mountain area so that one can just ride downhill for the most part. One still has a few uphill sections but none overly taxing. I've never done the bicycling down the hill but we saw lots of people doing it when we were driving up and down the hills. When one gets down into the town of Mammoth Mountain the Mammoth Mountain Brewery has my all time favorite beer, Blondie Bock a bourbon barrel aged blonde bock.

asp3 · Feb 17, 2021

Pictures are worth 1000 words so here are some pictures from some of my favorite bicycle trips. I'll try to relate them to the post above.

Here's a picture from that bike trail from Seaside to Pacific Grove. This one is from the Pacific Grove side going back towards Monterey and Seaside.

Here's one from the Truckee River trail.

And this one is from the bicycle trip in Adelaide

This one is from the Confederation Trail on Prince Edward Island

asp3 · Feb 17, 2021

I couldn't really find any good pictures of the bike trail along the Guadalupe River or on the dikes in the salt evaporation ponds. However looking for the other photos reminded me of some of my other favorite vacation bicycling trips.

When we were in Cambodia we did a bicycle tour of some of the areas around Phnom Penh. It was a great ride that took us across the Mekong River a couple of times on different ferries and along more rural areas very near the city. Here are a few pictures. The woman on the bicycle was our tour guide.

asp3 · Feb 17, 2021

When we were in Canada we also took a couple of other bicycle rides. One from Quebec City to Montmorency Falls. The bottom picture is the falls from the bicycle trail. We parked and locked our bicycles and then went to the bridge above the falls.

The other trip was riding around the Halifax area which also took us on some ferries to get to other parts of the city.

JonDouglas · Feb 22, 2021

These are the kind of trips that seem to most positively affect my outlook and sense of well-being.

It is the intense sensory stimulation that comes from open air, great scenery, speed, a degree of unpredictability and a less-than-perfect road or trail.

horseless carriage · Feb 22, 2021

https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/sp...alking-in-east-dorset/castleman-trailway.aspx
The above link is a fabulous pathway through some of the most scenic areas of central southern England. You can't take a motorised vehicle along it, but for walkers, horse riders and cyclists it's wonderful. Being the trackbed of a former railway line there's still odds and ends of railway memorabilia that make for a fascinating walk. A former station called Holmsley is now called Holmsley Tea Rooms. It's a great watering hole, despite the name, they serve hot meals, fresh coffee and have an alcohol licence.
https://www.stationhouseholmsley.com/