A nice story in Sundays grobe n flail on first time cycling in the city.

Riding TTC make you miserable/ anxious? Don’t like the subway? or the streetcar? get on yer bike. It might make you happier than a bottleful of drugs.

extract…

“The happiest cities all have a high number of cyclists, John Helliwell, a renowned happiness expert and economist at University of British Columbia, explained to me.

Denmark routinely tops the list of the happiest countries in the world. In Copenhagen, one in three people cycles to work or school.

In this country, a survey of more than 6,000 people found that 66 per cent of those who walk or bike to work say they’re very happy with their commute. That compares to only 25 per cent of public transit users and 32 per cent of drivers, according the Statistics Canada report.

I just wish it didn’t feel so suicidal. Cyclist fatalities may be relatively low in Toronto – averaging three per year – but there are 1,200 collisions, the highest percentage by population among major Canadian cities

photo Toronto Star

If research shows that happiest cities do have more cyclists I think the researchers may have neglected to control for mayors named “Ford” but even our Mayor smiles with a bike under his butt.

Half an hour on TTC can raise cortisol, adrenaline and blood pressure high enough to pop a human head. Do this often enough and you might look as stresed as everyone else on the TTC.

Though have you noticed the  new subway trains reveal something about how finding ourselves inside the bely of an aluminium snake makes us want to smile – and crikey some folks even talk to each other – careful! 

Even Mayor Ford smiles with a bike under his butt

If you’re like me then it’s difficult to ride a bike without wanting to smile.

Don’t have a bike? check out cool places like bike pirates were they can show you how to build your own and maintain it yourself – how’s that for building resilience ?

read the Globe & Mail article by Sarah Hampson

 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/news-and-views/sarah-hampson/why-cycling-can-make-you-a-happier-person/article2326191/page1/

other articles

• what’s the single best thing we can do for our health?http://recoverynetworktoronto.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/23%c2%bd-hours-what-is-the-single-best-thing-we-can-do-for-our-health/
• move your butt   https://recoverynetworktoronto.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/move-your-butt/
• brain gym   https://recoverynetworktoronto.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/rufus-may-brain-gym/

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