‘Bike Minded’—Normal Human Encounters (on Bikes)

Abstract

As this is a book about the ways in which very normal settings, groups, activities and social relations can have often subtle and profound impacts on people’s mental well-being, it would probably be remiss to exclude an example of a project that included some form of exercise. After all exercise is something that most people can do to some extent and that doesn’t require a great deal of expertise. At this juncture the reader may begin to experience a creeping sense of dread that this may be one of the many chapters and papers that informs the world that exercise is good, not only for physical health, but for mental well-being too. And Lord knows there is plenty such research out there. So much so that people may be forgiven for developing a yet to be named sense of ‘exercise is good for mental health fatigue’—an increasingly widespread syndrome whereby normal people keep hearing how good exercise is for their mental health. To name but a few, recent years have seen publicly disseminated research showing that exercise creates pleasant mood (1, 2), that those who exercise with regularity experience reduced anxiety, depression and anger, and a positive sense of revitalisation and tranquillity (3). We also know that it is beneficial for the mental well-being of people experiencing a variety of medical conditions (4) as well as those in perfect physical health. Cycling in particular has a raft of recent publications illustrating its positive impact on mental well-being (5), and these few studies are only the tip of the iceberg.