My bicycling experience! + Cycling benefits ♥

Hi everyone! Yesterday my best friend Anna and I went on one of our biggest adventures yet. We have been talking about co owning a guinea pig or getting a couple hamsters, the only problem is, my dad is off camping so we had no ride and her parents won't warm up to the idea of a pet until she actually brings it home, so there was no way they'd willingly take us to get a pet. Anna and I are both impatient and bored and always looking for something fun to do. So we grabbed some money and our bikes and decided to travel around town and see if we could find a pet store. Little did we know, we would end up traveling MUCH farther than we intended! 

Here is the distance we traveled! I'm not sure if this was our exact route or not because we made a ton of short cuts and turns and remember, we didn't have a clue we're we were going! We remembered there was a pet store some where around Turtle Run but other than that we were just having fun and looking around. 

We biked really far in the HOT sun. We kept saying how absolutely crazy it was to be so far from home on bikes with no real clue we're we were headed! We made a lot of stops for drinks. One of the downsides for the trip was our tans. We love getting nice tans but we (mostly Anna LOL) got boarder line BURNT. We had to stop and switch pants because he knees were getting burned! Other than that we had a ton of fun and we did find a pet store and we got to hold a guinea pig! Weee~

While bike riding, it occurred to me that this much have a ton of benefits to your body! I've always know that it was great exercise but what else does it do? Here's what I found!

• For those of you wanting to burn calories, bike riding burns them like crazy! 
• Bike riding has been linked to improving mental health and it helps strengthen your immune system!
• You develop killer legs! You work your quads, gluts and calves while pedaling. Who doesn't want toned legs? Judging by my sore legs, my muscles were getting pretty worked!
• It boosts energy! This is one of my favorite benefits because I hate feeling tired after doing nothing for days. Riding bikes improves you energy level by 20% and decreases fatigue by 65%. If you're feeling tired and sluggish, grab your bike!
• Its good for you joints! But remember, don't over work your body! Its never good to do too much that's its dangerous.
• Not only your legs get toned but your whole body! Working the handle bars can really do good for your arms.
• Its great for your heart! Riding bikes can lower you blood pressure and cholesterol.

See? Tons of great benefits to simply riding around on your bike. But a side note: always wear a helmet. I didn't wear one but its extremely dangerous not too. Make sure to keep yourself hydrated! Drink a lot of water and drinks with those good electrolytes in them (ex: Gatorade, Powerade) so you don't suffer from heat exhaustion or dehydration. Don't pedal too hard and if you're new a biking don't go too far. I haven't biked in a long time and I'm paying the price for it now! I went way farther than I'm used to and now my thighs are so sore I can barely walk! (no biggy! lol) Make sure your bike is in good condition and I recommend going with a friend or family member to play it safe. Wear sun screen so you don't get burned while out in the sun!

Hope you give biking a try! Thanks for reading and look forward to more posts!