Up next in 10
I've not posted a video in a while. Just couldn't get my self to do it. Then I thought about the benefits of riding again and decided to go for a ride. I don't have a mic for the action cam, so I tried something new.
For more bike-related stuff, check out https://adventurebiketroop.com/
Comment if you want the links to the studies.
#Motorcycling #MentalHealth #Riding
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0:28
Hi, I'm Francois from adventurebiketroop.com
0:41
I've been missing in action from the channel for a while and there's a list of excuses
0:45
that's long and pathetic but I'm back, sort of, and I thought I'd start with something
0:49
that's been on my mind recently. I want to chat about the benefits of riding a motorcycle
0:55
Benefit number one stress relief
1:10
It's no secret that motorcycling is a good way to get rid of stress
1:18
I remember how great it felt after my daily 30 minute ride home from the office
1:24
My mind was clear and the day's frustrations erased from my short-term memory
1:29
But now that I work from home, I actually miss those commutes, even though I had to brain heavy traffic at times
1:37
I've been missing from YouTube for the bigger part of the last two months. Work got super busy. I've had a lot to do on the Land Cruiser, not without some setbacks
1:45
I'll make some videos on that in the future. And that kept me from making videos for you
1:49
Not just because of time, but just, I just couldn't get myself to set up the camera
1:54
and think about something meaningful to say. Now, not being able to run since January this year
2:02
due to an injury not related to running or riding also didn help with the motivation So I wouldn call this depression and my problems are so not serious But it was one of those dips that you just have to get through
2:14
And sometimes it takes weeks to get through. Now the long hours at my office job cause a lot of stress and lower back pain from sitting all day and stiff neck muscles
2:27
And when I couldn't stand it anymore, I went for a deep tissue massage. And the masseuse asked me whether I had gone through some trauma as she couldn't get the muscles to relax
2:36
And then out of the blue she suggested I start riding motorcycles even though she didn't know I ride. Now apparently
2:43
Riding worked for her after being held at gunpoint during a house robbery. Now that made me stink about the benefits of riding again
2:51
There are various scientifically supported reasons for why riding is good for stress relief
2:55
relief riding a motorcycle stimulates the release of dopamine and endorphins happy almost the ones your brain spikes your body with to create the runners
3:04
high you're totally disconnected from your phone laptop email social media nothing demands your attention apart from one aim of staying upright and
3:17
alive now some studies have found that just seeing trees like these instills a
3:24
sense of calm. Before you think I'm making all of this up, let's quote some stats from an unbiased
3:30
study by UCLA's Simmel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Now I say unbiased, but what
3:37
I really mean is it was funded by Wally Davidson. Oops, wait a minute. Anyways
3:44
the study found that within 20 minutes of riding, cortisol levels reduced by 28%
3:52
Riders experience an increase of 11% in heart rate. I can confirm this as I wore my Garmin running watch on this ride
4:01
And a 27% increase in adrenaline. That's basically what happens when I ride my mountain bike
4:09
Benefit number two mental health This is very much related to the first benefit of stress relief But I use an example to illustrate how this works for me When we did our three 9600 mile ride from Cape Town to Cairo through Africa on two 200cc Chinese delivery bikes
4:28
we made a video somewhere up here. We spent between eight and ten hours a day on our bikes
4:35
Now before the trip, my wife and I decided against bike-to-bike intercoms, so we were basically left
4:40
with our own thoughts for most of the ride. Initially my mind would not shut up. My thoughts
4:47
were messy, trying to think of the road ahead or what we're leaving behind. But after a
4:52
few days everything fell into place. My mind went quiet. I just relaxed and enjoyed the
4:57
ride. Life on the road was simple. Get up, back up, ride, stop, rest, eat, ride some more
5:06
find a place to stay, eat, sleep, repeat. Many hours inside a helmet just looking out in front
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of you is like meditating. All there is is now. The last stop doesn't matter anymore
5:21
the next one doesn't exist yet because we've not been this far up Africa before
5:26
So this was the only time in my life that I've really been present in the now for such a long
5:31
continuous period of time. By the end of the trip I had inner peace. Life made sense and
5:35
anything seemed possible. But soon after we started working again, stopped riding and
5:41
fell into old bad habits. But even on a short ride like this one we're doing now on this
5:48
video, you can get a small sense of that feeling of bliss
5:56
Benefit number three, physical exercise. Riding a motorcycle will strengthen your knees and thighs as you try to balance the bike
6:04
This is especially so on dirt bikes or adventure bikes, riding off-road
6:08
Now we don't have favourites on this channel, all bikes are awesome, but dual sports and adventure bikes really are the best
6:14
It is suggested that riding also strengthens your core muscles. Now I've got evidence to prove otherwise, but I won't show it for fear of losing subscribers
6:22
Studies have found that riding motorcycle burns around 600 calories per hour Now that more than a 30 minute run if you run like a girl
6:35
Now riding a dirt bike will burn way more, especially if you ride like me
6:40
Go check out this video where I practice ski turns on the XR. I was totally spent after less than 30 minutes of trying to get the bike to swing around
6:49
Benefit number 4. Improved brain function. Another unbiased study by Tohoku University, this time in partnership with Yamaha Japan
7:00
found that riding a bike improves your cognitive function by as much as 50%
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This is due to high levels of alertness and rapid problem solving that your brain has to
7:11
maintain in order to keep the bike upright, heading in the direct direction and generally
7:15
out of trouble. Benefit number five. Bikers are around 78.3% more attractive than non-bikers
7:26
While the actual percentage is clearly made up, an online study by UK motorcycle insurance
7:31
brokers Carole Nash surveyed more than a thousand adults and asked them to rate how attractive
7:37
the opposite sex appears when dressed as motorcyclists compared to normal drivers
7:44
five out of six cases ordinary members of the public dressed as motorcyclists who voted as more
7:50
attractive when dressed as drivers. Best is that they were also seen to have positive personality
7:56
traits. Apparently people from the opposite sex believe that motorbike owners are more adventurous
8:03
daring and fun. The funny thing is that non-bikers know this and that's why you get so many pretend
8:08
leather biker jackets. The scary surprise of this survey was that one in four dudes pretend
8:15
to own a motorcycle and nearly a third of the guys would learn to ride if they knew it would impress
8:20
girls. Wow we're stupid. Anyways I looked for further proof and I found this. Now if that's not
8:26
conclusive I don't know what is. Anyways thanks for watching let me know if you can think of any
8:32
other benefits of riding a motorcycle and until next time ride safe
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