The runner’s high may be a better-known concept in the athletic world, but riding a bike is just as chemically rewarding. If you could bottle that buoyant, fleeting feeling, you’d be a billionaire. Consciously or subconsciously, it drives us to keep heading out in the saddle.
Throw the social aspect into the mix for another intoxicating element in this heady cocktail of mind, body and soul. Chatting while the miles tick down releases dopamine and oxytocin, a duo of hormones and neurotransmitters that are as unbeatable as Sepp Kuss and Jonas Vingegaard on a Tour de France mountain climb.
They are like the body’s roadside super-fans, providing a reward for moderate effort. After all, it’s about enjoying the ride and throwing in a few stops to enjoy the White Isle’s produce, not setting a new FTP record. This is the power of Joyriding; nobody gets left behind.
Because when it comes to getting the ultimate natural lift, there’s an optimal effort level. Happily, it’s pretty moderate too: Professor Elsa Heyman carried out a study with 11 healthy trained male cyclists which showed that after 30 minutes of cycling at Zone 3 – 75% of one’s maximal power (around the sweet spot pace for most group ride) – endocannabinoid levels increased. Activating that system can provides a boost of euphoria and enhance creative thinking too.
