‘Instead of “closing down” at our ages … we’re thinking of exciting and challenging things to do’: older people’s microadventures outdoors on (e-)bikes

Spencer, Ben; Jones, Tim; Leyland, Louise‐Ann; Reekum, Carien M. van; Beale, Nick

doi:10.1080/14729679.2018.1558080

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…This indicates that e-bikes, due to supporting the cycling, may enable increased activity and durations of cycle rides. Many of the participants commented that they felt they could go further on the e-bike as they could rely on it to get home if they could not manage it by themselves (see [38] for a qualitative account of factors affecting cycling behavior in ‘Older people’s microadventures outdoors on (e-) bikes’).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults

et al. 2019

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It has been demonstrated that, on their own, both exercise and stimulation from the environment can improve cognitive function and well-being in older adults. The combined effect of exercising in the outdoor environment on psychological function is less well studied. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of an outdoor cycling intervention on cognitive function and mental health and well-being in older adults. A total of 100 older adults took part in the study (aged 50–83), 26 of which were non-cycling controls, 36 were conventional pedal cyclists and 38 were participants using an e-bike (a bike fitted with an electric motor to provide assistance with pedaling), as part of a larger project ( www.cycleboom.org ). Participants took part in the study for an eight-week period, with cycling participants required to cycle at least three times a week for thirty minutes in duration for each cycle ride. Cognitive function and well-being were measured before and after the intervention period. For executive function, namely inhibition (the Stroop task) and updating (Letter Updating Task), both cycling groups improved in accuracy after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. E-bike participants also improved in processing speed (reaction times in go trials of the Stop-It task) after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. Finally, e-bike participants improved in their mental health score after the intervention compared to non-cycling controls as measured by the SF-36. This suggests that there may be an impact of exercising in the environment on executive function and mental health. Importantly, we showed a similar (sometimes larger) effect for the e-bike group compared to the pedal cyclists. This suggests that it is not just the physical activity component of cycling that is having an influence. Both pedal cycles and e-bikes can enable increased physical activity and engagement with the outdoor environment with e-bikes potentially providing greater benefits.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults

et al. 2019

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“…Crucially, they may contribute to better health and mobility for ageing users (Johnson & Rose, 2015;Jones, Chatterjee, et al, 2016;Van Cauwenberg et al, 2019), although the benefits of active mobility also extend to a broader spectrum of the population in the context of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. In addition to physical activity, e-bikes have also been linked to healthy ageing as they improve cognitive functions and mental health through engagement with the outdoor environment, independence and mobility (Leyland et al, 2019;Spencer et al, 2019). However, their negative health effects include a higher risk of accident compared to conventional cycling, presumably due to the increased weight and speed of e-bikes (Schepers et al, 2014) E-bikes may also allow for longer trips than conventional bicycles.…”

Section: E-bikes and Cyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

From conventional to electrically-assisted cycling. A biographical approach to the adoption of the e-bike

Marincek

Rérat

2020

International Journal of Sustainable Transportation

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Sales of electrically-assisted bicycles (e-bikes) have been rising in many European countries. Due to their electrical assistance, e-bikes could increase the number of people cycling and the potential uses of cycling. Existing research has not investigated the links between conventional cycling and e-bike use at the individual level. Using qualitative, retrospective data, this paper aims to determine how e-bike use fits into an existing cycling trajectory over the life course. E-bike users in the Swiss city of Lausanne (N ¼ 24) are interviewed to compare their cycling trajectories. They fall into two main trajectories: "restorative" and "resilient", which each represent different relationships to cycling and different reasons to adopt the e-bike over the life course. E-bikes might serve as both a way to restore an interrupted cycling practice, or to keep existing cyclists despite threats posed by changing personal and spatial contexts.

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“…Moreover, social connectedness has also been linked with mental well‐being. 49 A qualitative study by Spencer et al 44 highlighted how social re‐connectedness happens through simple conversations with others occur during e‐cycling. Our participants explained how social connectedness started with simple greetings such as “hello” with a passerby, and how these interactions would, over time, develop into conversations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health and well‐being benefits of e‐bike commuting for inactive, overweight people living in regional Australia

Anderson

Clarkson

Howie

et al. 2022

Health Prom J of Aust

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Introduction: Pedal-assisted electric-bikes (e-bikes) are bicycles fitted with electric motors. Motorised functions on e-bikes only operate when the user pedals, allowing riders a moderate amount of physical activity. This study aimed to explore the mental and physical health and well-being impacts related to e bike usage for inactive overweight or obese individuals living in regional Australia.Methods: Twenty inactive, overweight/obese people who seldom cycled were provided with an e bike over a 12-week period. Individual semi-structured interviews conducted at the end of the trial generated data about participants' experiences of using e bikes. Inductive thematic analysis of interview data using Thomas (2006) data analysis framework and NVivo 12 software was undertaken.Results: Data analysis revealed that e-cycling improved participants' mental and physical well-being and that they felt happier when riding an e-bike. Conclusions:Riding an e-bike can improve mental and physical health, happiness and overall sense of well-being. Greater uptake of e-bikes would have positive health implications for the wider community. Results from this study can be used to inform active transport policy.So what?: Our study demonstrated that encouraging active transport in the form of e-cycling can improve the overall health and well-being of overweight and obese Australians. More specifically, e-cycling demonstrated a positive impact on mental health well-being.

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‘Instead of “closing down” at our ages … we’re thinking of exciting and challenging things to do’: older people’s microadventures outdoors on (e-)bikes

Cited by 17 publications

References 29 publications

The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults

The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults

From conventional to electrically-assisted cycling. A biographical approach to the adoption of the e-bike

Health and well‐being benefits of e‐bike commuting for inactive, overweight people living in regional Australia

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