Critical Mass in Toronto

Want to socialize with other cyclists in Toronto and get exercise while doing it?

Go to the Critical Mass gatherings on the last Friday of every month. They meet at the corner of Bloor and Spadina and then bike around Toronto as one big group.

Check out the photos below of some past Critical Mass rides.

Bicycling your Way to Fitness

6 Minutes on your Bicycle per Day...

If you weigh between 160 to 170 lbs 6 minutes on a bicycle (cycling as fast as you can) burns 120 calories.

You are only cycling 20 mph (32 kmph), but in 6 minutes you've burned 120 calories... And when you realize you are only supposed to eat approx 2000 calories per day then that is 16.7% of your daily calories in JUST 6 MINUTES.

Now of course you don't need to be racing / going that fast. You could go at a more leisurely pace.

At 10 mph you burn 47 calories.

At 12 mph you burn 62 calories.

At 14 mph you burn 79 calories.

At 16 mph you burn 95 calories.

And this is just for someone who weighs 165 lbs. The more you weigh the more you burn when doing cardio because it takes more effort.

If you weigh 220 pounds the numbers go up dramatically!

10 mph for 6 minutes = 62 calories.
12 mph for 6 minutes = 84 calories.
14 mph for 6 minutes = 104 calories.
16 mph for 6 minutes = 126 calories.
20 mph for 6 minutes = 168 calories.

And its just for 6 minutes! Imagine if you bicycled at a leisurely 10 mph pace for 1 hour (bicycling 10 miles)... the total is 630 calories.

Go weigh yourself, visit the free calorie calculator at fatburn.com/free_tool_activity_burn.asp and then calculate how many calories you can lose just by cycling daily...

And then go bicycle every day for a month and see how much you lose.

For fun you can also take up fixing bicycles. Lose weight, fix bicycles, bicycle, save money on transportation, have fun!