cycling vs. walking
inaperfectworld
Posts: 219
so which is harder?
my son wanted to do some walking in scotland so we booked up to do 4 days on the southern upland way: it is very desolate but is in a very quiet corner of scotland, the drawback being the lack of towns/villages and accomodation which makes long days unavoidable. ( we were doing 13,15,16 and 18)
reckoned i was fit enough as i cycle in alps and not long back from vercors, but walking is a lot different to biking: you don't use groin muscles for cycling and these were sore from day 1 and i'm still recovering from right groin strain. 5 days later. also your poor knees get a pounding even more so with the weight of luggage ( and the rucksac weight gives you shoulder ache from changing your usual point of balance to counteract the weight and generally you feel to have a days worth of being pummelled and generally battered. we had to abandon the last day as we both had knee pain and i couldn't properly raise my right leg due to the groin strain and 18 miles was just too much for the last day in this state of bodily disrepair. still we were happier than the couple walking the whole 200+ miles who were camping and practically bent double with ruksac weight and going at such a snail's pace that i with a limp sped past them.
you forget that cycling is a low impact activity; demands more of muscles and breathing but allows faster recoverry as your body hasn't had a pounding. also walking seems so slow: landmarks arrive and leave so slowly.
definitely cycling beats walking any day ( and must beat running on pavements, how hard is that on the knees!).
trouble is my son doesn't cycle and is built more like a bike sprinter than a climber/ endurance cyclist antway, so we have unfinished businesss walking and will ahve to go and finish it off.
most annoying is that the parents of my son's wife recently walked the 3 peaks in yorkshire which is 26 miles, so we feel obliged to do that as well.
so i wondered if they are fit enough to do that how far would they get on a bike, would they find going to a bike from walking hard?
my son wanted to do some walking in scotland so we booked up to do 4 days on the southern upland way: it is very desolate but is in a very quiet corner of scotland, the drawback being the lack of towns/villages and accomodation which makes long days unavoidable. ( we were doing 13,15,16 and 18)
reckoned i was fit enough as i cycle in alps and not long back from vercors, but walking is a lot different to biking: you don't use groin muscles for cycling and these were sore from day 1 and i'm still recovering from right groin strain. 5 days later. also your poor knees get a pounding even more so with the weight of luggage ( and the rucksac weight gives you shoulder ache from changing your usual point of balance to counteract the weight and generally you feel to have a days worth of being pummelled and generally battered. we had to abandon the last day as we both had knee pain and i couldn't properly raise my right leg due to the groin strain and 18 miles was just too much for the last day in this state of bodily disrepair. still we were happier than the couple walking the whole 200+ miles who were camping and practically bent double with ruksac weight and going at such a snail's pace that i with a limp sped past them.
you forget that cycling is a low impact activity; demands more of muscles and breathing but allows faster recoverry as your body hasn't had a pounding. also walking seems so slow: landmarks arrive and leave so slowly.
definitely cycling beats walking any day ( and must beat running on pavements, how hard is that on the knees!).
trouble is my son doesn't cycle and is built more like a bike sprinter than a climber/ endurance cyclist antway, so we have unfinished businesss walking and will ahve to go and finish it off.
most annoying is that the parents of my son's wife recently walked the 3 peaks in yorkshire which is 26 miles, so we feel obliged to do that as well.
so i wondered if they are fit enough to do that how far would they get on a bike, would they find going to a bike from walking hard?
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Personally, I bike (Road & MTB), walk (mountains mainly), run (road & fell) so don't find any problem switching from one to the other.
It's all about what you are used to doing. I would expect that if you only cycled, to do anything remotely demanding on foot would be a shock to the system, and vice-versa.
I like the feeling that I can choose whether I want to do a 100 mile bike ride, a 20 mile fell run or a 25 mile walk this weekend. Decisions, decisions....
DBPlanet-X SL Pro Carbon.
Tifosi CK3 Winter Bike
Planet X London Road Disc
Planet X RT80 Elite0 -
Ignoring injuries from impact, LSD for walking is a hell of a lot easier than for a bike. Before coming to cycling I used to a lot of hill walking (especially with the army where its considered adventurous training and they'll pay for you to go off nice places and do it!) but I broke my ankle last year and stupidly carried on training with the army thinking it was just a sprain and now its so messed up that walking for 5 minutes is unpleasant. Although that did bring me to cycling!
When walking I found that it was more mental fitness that stopped me and I could keep going for ages if I moved at the right speed. Just make sure you have a boots/sock combo that works for you.
Personally I've found the switch to cycling quite hard as it does require a higher level of fitness. I can only stay on the bike for about an hour due to my ankle but during that time I'm only maintaining 14/15mph.......but I'm working on it.
Challenge them to a long ride and see how they do!
btw... if you are going ahead with the walking as well then I would deffo get some walking poles. They take away a large amount of shock from your knees and ankles and help in the long run. Make sure you get comfy boots that fit you well and wear them in, blisters will ruin your day!!!0 -
You have answered your own question, different exercise used different muscle groups, therefore fitness only plays a small part in this comparison, also your body gets used to a certain exercise.
I would like to add that their sit bones are not used to the pressure consequently they would be sore after only a few miles.
I have found walking similar to cycling in that as Ollieda put it “it was more mental fitness” this applies to both disciplines, IMO
Actually Walking I feel is harder over a distance as if you need a break in walking you STOP, whereas on a bike, you have many options, (freewheeling downhill, draughting, pedal less but still covering distance.
RTC Out0 -
I would say as an MTBer, road biker, trail runner and one time triathlete that the following distances are roughly equivalent based on no scientific fact - just ending up the same "knackeredness"
3.5m trail run (hilly and technical) = 10 mile MTB ride (semi technical) = 12 mile road ride = 6 mile walk (hilly terrain)0 -
Obviously you are very fit so you're able to push yourself quite hard when walking. The problem is that you're using different muscles so they suffer more fatigue simply because of your fitness and consequently give you extra pain.
I hadn't played badminton for year but when I did I was able to rush about because of cycling fitness. I knew about it the following day because my arm nearly fell off
Same thing with your legs.
GeoffOld cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster0 -
Geoff_SS wrote:Obviously you are very fit so you're able to push yourself quite hard when walking. The problem is that you're using different muscles so they suffer more fatigue simply because of your fitness and consequently give you extra pain.
I hadn't played badminton for year but when I did I was able to rush about because of cycling fitness. I knew about it the following day because my arm nearly fell off Same thing with your legs.
Geoff
Yup:
I used to do a lot of fast hillwalking (not *quite* running) in heavy boots and with a large daysack.
Regular cycling (just commuting but 125 miles a week) has improved my aerobic fitness so I can easily run up our local hills, but my legs aren't used to it, so feel really sore the next day. Slightly different muscles.
Hey, it's an excuse for different types of training...
Sounds good.0
