Tag Archives: Travel

cycling a must trend

To be fit and healthy you need to be physically active. Regular physical activity can help protect you from serious
diseases such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, mental illness, diabetes and arthritis. Riding your bicycle regularly is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of health problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

Cycling is a healthy, low-impact exercise that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, from young children to older adults. It is also fun, cheap and good for the environment.

Riding to work or the shops is one of the most time-efficient ways to combine regular exercise with your everyday routine. An estimated one billion people ride bicycles every day – for transport, recreation and sport.

Cycling for health and fitness
It only takes two to four hours a week to achieve a general improvement to your health. Cycling is:

  • Low impact – it causes less strain and injuries than most other forms of exercise.
  • A good muscle workout– cycling uses all of the major muscle groups as you pedal.
  • Easy – unlike some other sports, cycling does not require high levels of physical skill. Most people know how to ride a bike and, once you learn, you don’t forget.
  • Good for strength and stamina– cycling increases stamina, strength and aerobic fitness.
  • As intense as you want– cycling can be done at very low intensity to begin with, if recovering from injury or illness, but can be built up to a demanding physical workout.
  • A fun way to get fit– the adventure and buzz you get from coasting down hills and being outdoors means you are more likely to continue to cycle regularly, compared to other physical activities that keep you indoors or require special times or places.
  • Time-efficient – as a mode of transport, cycling replaces sedentary (sitting) time spent driving motor vehicles or using trams, trains or buses with healthy exercise

Health benefits of regular cycling
Cycling is mainly an aerobic activity, which means that your heart, blood vessels and lungs all get a workout. You will breathe deeper, perspire and experience increased body temperature, which will improve your overall fitness level.

  • The health benefits of regular cycling include:
  • increased cardiovascular fitness
  • increased muscle strength and flexibility
  • improved joint mobility
  • decreased stress levels
  • improved posture and coordination
  • strengthened bones
  • decreased body fat levels
  • prevention or management of disease
  • reduced anxiety and depression.

Articles from:
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/cycling-health-benefits

Planet ICELAND…

My third trip to Europe was end of January 2019. Usually on these business trips, you fly-in the night before the meetings, do all the meetings for the week and fly out the next day. And I have just done that for the last 2 trips.

This year, I decided that I would do something different, that I would see abit of Europe after the meetings in Amsterdam. My plan was to take a train and travel to Norway via German, Denmark and Sweden. Reason for Norway was that I wanted to see the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.

Nas Daily – Planet Iceland – a great vidblog

So I requested for a week break after the meetings and during the week of travel, a friend alerted me to  fly direct to Iceland from Netherlands. So after little search, I found direct flights that are just $150 dollars (K400) return from Amsterdam to Reykjavik.

Cathedral of Christ the King in Reykjavik.

January is in the Winter Season for Iceland, and when I arrive…..from the airport to the hotel, there is only ICE covering almost everything I can see. One thing good about ICELAND is that they are so well organized. You have tour buses picking you right at the airport, drops you at the hotel, picks you up again when you ready and takes you straight to your tour sites. All you do is book them online and everything is organize for you.

 So off I went….see the Aurora Borealis and also get to swim in the ‘Secret Lake’ in the middle of the night! Yes, it was cold and it was minus 10 degrees but I have come these far to just stay in the room. I was determined to see that Northern Lights and show Papua New Guinea that I have seen it with my eyes.

But the highlight of my trip is the ‘Secret Lake’ in the middle of nowhere! After driving 2 hours, we came to a small lake, that we all changed and went it. The feeling was divine! I felt I was reborn that my whole system had reset itself…….now I feel I should do an annual pilgrimage there again.

Secret Lake in Reykjavik, Iceland