Hello all, Today I was surfing the net and found an interesting article on Nine MSN about cycling. Did you know that after walking, aerobics and swimming, cycling is the fourth most popular form of exercise in Australia? Well, how about that??

The article wanted to look into the health risk of riding around traffic due to air pollution caused by said traffic. This really caught my attention as I usually ride to work and love cycling whenever I have the chance.

The article went on to say the main pollutants are ozone, particles, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide, but the most dangerous of these was the carbon monoxide as it sticks to the blood quite strongly and can be fatal in high doses, as it reduces the ability of the blood to carry oxygen to the organs and tissues. I wonder if these particles are the free radicals I’ve heard talk about????

Luckily for us riders, the results found that the increases in the test subjects carbon monoxide levels only increased slightly to readings of around 2.5% where 10% would be dangerous.

This is a great relief! There is no need to worry as the health benefits outweigh the risks of pollution and also if you use bike paths when you can, just being 10 meters away from traffic, will reduce pollution levels by 90%.

I guess your wondering want happens with this slight increase in the body’s carbon monoxide levels. Me too! Well, you’ll be pleased to know these increased levels will generally dissipate after about 5 hours.

So, keep cycling and stay healthy!!!!!!! Jamie