The Benefits of Road Cycling

Whether you’re inspired to get out on your bike and explore your local roads or have your sights set on pursuing peak athletic performance, road cycling has plenty of physical benefits.

Here are three of the main ones you can expect to enjoy when you start road cycling. 

Over time, road cycling will strengthen your muscles, specifically in your legs and core. 

Even if you aren’t riding with performance in mind, regular road riding, especially if you live in an area with lots of hills, will help to develop your muscles.

Investing in a pair of road cycling shoes and clipless pedals will add to these benefits by letting you use your whole pedal stroke, rather than just the down stroke. 

If your doctor has indicated you might need to lose a few pounds, cycling regularly – along with healthy eating habits – can help you maintain your weight.

Then there’s the positive impact that exercise has on sleep. It’s been proven to benefit regular sleepers, and even those with recognised sleep disorders.

Finally, there’s an immunity-boosting effect. Did you know people who cycle have fewer sick days from work?

So you’ll have to think up a new excuse next time you want to enjoy a duvet day.

As well as benefiting your physical health, taking up road cycling can be good for your mental health as well.  

Going out for a ride can be a great way to give yourself a break from the stresses of everyday life, whether you choose to ride, alone or with a group.

For more information on how solo cycling or cycling in groups can be beneficial to you, be sure to check out our comprehensive guides to the two subjects. 

Road cycling is a great way to reduce stress, especially when riding alone, and many road cyclists use solo rides as an opportunity to practice mindfulness.

The joy of road riding is that it’s often just you, your bike and the road, meaning that you can focus on the journey rather than your usual day to day worries.

Road cycling also allows you to get outside and to exercise, two things that have a proven impact on stress levels. 

Road cycling can also boost your mood. Regularly getting fresh air and exercise will not only help you feel better mentally, it can improve clarity and focus as well.

Having a consistent outlet for stress and an activity that allows you to stay active while being outdoors can be excellent for your mental health. 

Finally, road cycling can help you to enhance your focus and discipline by maintaining a routine and setting goals.

The key to this is setting achievable goals, rather than overextending yourself, so that you can still have a feeling of accomplishment without pushing yourself beyond your limits.

We’ll give you some more tips and tricks on forming routines and setting goals later, but making and keeping these cycling goals can help you to have more discipline in other areas of your life as well. 

On top of being good for your personal physical and mental well-being, cycling is good for the environment as well, especially if you’re planning on using your road bike for commuting and running errands on top of riding for fun.

Road cycling is also a great way to expand your social circle, participate in your local cycling community and to promote an active lifestyle to those who may be unsure about getting into road cycling.  

Chances are, your local area already has an active road cycling community. If you’re just starting out, these groups are invaluable for finding the best routes in your area.

Whether it’s a racing-focused club or more of a socially-minded community of cyclists, you’ll get great tips on which local bike shops are best, as well regular rides or events in your area that are worth checking out. 

Cycling regularly, especially if you’re using your road bike to get around or run errands, helps to promote a sustainable and active lifestyle, which often inspires others to do the same.

Even if it doesn’t, maintaining an active lifestyle yourself can in itself be a great way to stay healthy and help your mental health on a daily basis. 

So, now that you know all of the benefits that road cycling can have for you and for the world around you, how can you go about getting started?

We’ve put together a quick guide on everything you’ll need to know to start riding, the necessary  cycling gear and some helpful tips and tricks to make getting started on your road cycling journey a little bit easier. 

Looking for a suitable bike can be a daunting task, but here are some things that you should know before starting your search.

Many new road cyclists choose to go with an endurance road bike as they are more comfortable, have a more upright positioning and can be more budget-friendly than more race-focused road bikes.

However, if your goals are more performance-focused, a lighter-weight road bike with a more aggressive position could be your best option.

For a more in-depth look at everything you need to know about picking your perfect first road bike, check out our guide to choosing a road bike.

Road cycling is about more than just the bike. On top of getting the right road bike for you, having the right gear will make your first ride experience much better.

Some necessary items to help you get started are bib shorts, a jersey, some water bottles for keeping you hydrated on long rides and a saddle bag to keep your repair kit in. When you’re out on the road, you should always carry a roadside repair kit consisting of a spare tube, a set of tyre levers, a multitool, a pump or CO2 inflator and a patch kit, just in case.

While not necessary for new road cyclists, a cycling computer can be a great addition to your set-up.

Cycling computers can help you to track your progress, and some models also provide you with GPS mapping, something which is very helpful for new road cyclists who want to explore fresh routes. 

British Cycling has a club finder on its website which is great for discovering cycling clubs, and you can even search by postcode.

Then there’s also Facebook, where most larger local ride groups will have some kind of presence. And like we said earlier, your local bike shop or cycling cafe will likely have some kind of group ride that’s open to anyone. 

But if you're interested in joining the Van Rysel cycling community, you can see what rides are coming up led by Nick Frendo, our passionate road cycling community manager.