Let's go cycling

简便易行、磨练意志, 在汗水和笑声中收获战胜困难、挑战极限以及团队互助的快乐, 领略青山绿溪的如画美景--热爱健康的朋友们, 快快加入到自行车运动者的行列中来吧!



Originating in Europe, cycling is recreation, a sport, and a means of transport across land. It includes riding bicycles, unicycles, tricycles, and other human-powered pedal vehicles. The bicycle is a tremendously efficient means of transportation. In fact, cycling is more efficient than any other method of travel-including walking! Since bodies are fueled by food, diet plays an important role in how the body performs. It takes less energy to bicycle one mile than it takes to walk the same mile. In fact, a bicycle can be up to 5 times more efficient than walking. If we compare the amount of calories burned while bicycling to the number of calories an automobile burns, the difference is astounding. One hundred calories can power a cyclist for three miles, but it would only power a car 280 feet (85 meters)!

During this sweltering summer, why not drive away the sultry heat waves by flying through some picturesque scenes on your bicycle?

 

Bicycle focus
By Bob Constable

The bicycle is a Chinese stereotype. In Xiamen, many workers use them for commuting and as part of their jobs. I am never surprised anymore to see a mountain of boxes, cages, or bundles moving down the street on two wheels, the rider somewhere inside. As Beijing and other cities inexorably become clogged with more automobiles, and young couples work and save for their dream car so they can clog the city as well, the bicycle remains my favorite, mode of transportation.

Most Xiamen bicyclists go at the same plodding speed. Even if they have a favorable slope, they rarely speed up; they just stop pedaling. So, I whiz past them as if they are standing still. Sometimes someone will pass me, but usually it's to show me how fast they can go, and after much looking over their shoulder to make sure I've seen how speedy they are, they usually slow down, and then I inevitably pass them and leave them behind. Compared with other Chinese cities, Xiamen cyclists are more at ease, always enjoying their lives.

 

I love cycling
By Myra Chen

One day in April, I was reading a full page article about bicycles in the Xiamen Daily News. Later, I found the Happy Cycling Club and bought my red mountain bike. Since then, my life has changed.

My first long-distance bicycle trip was from Xiamen to the Yongding Earth Building. It was a round trip of 400 km. On the first day, my friends and I rode about 140km, which was really hard for me. Three hours of up wind riding in the sun plus 7 kilometers of uphill riding at night was exhausting, driving me to the edge of giving up. With my partners' encouragement, I eventually finished the trip. You never know what you can achieve until you try. The three days of challenge and excitement on my bicycle was a good experience for me and strengthened my confidence.

The Happy Cycling Club has many activities every weekend. I have also attended the 2nd Dong Ping Hill Ride Competition, as well as riding to Yang Mei Reservoir. I also took part in the 1st Qingyuan Hill Ride Competition in Quanzhou, following which eighteen of us rode back from Quanzhou to Xiamen. The trip was 110 km. We started back at 4:30pm. In order to arrive in Xiamen before midnight our average speed had to be at least 25 kmph. After two hours of riding, it was getting dark and started to rain. Hungry and cold, we shared our food: chocolate, cookies, ham, and so on. As not every bicycle had a headlamp, our team leader, San Ha, arranged five people in a group with at least two lights, and two in a line. He also set a reasonable downhill speed for the team. With an old-hand, Da Chen, leading us, he called and gestured whenever there was a road block or a sudden turn. Every ten minutes, when we heard Da Chen call out number 18, everyone yelled, "OH YEAH!" The newcomer, Crazy Ant, almost collapsed when we arrived in Tongan. Xiao Dai, QQ, San Ha and Mumu, all pushed her along on the way back. Eventually, all 18 of us arrived safely in Xiamen. This trip will remain in our memory as one containing surprises, joys, and stunning views, along with a memory of our spirited teamwork.



I was once a shy and nervous girl. After taking to cycling and joining the Happy Cycling Club, I have grown to be open-minded and happy. If you want relief from the pressure and worries of work and life, cycling is a pretty good choice. Breathing the fresh air of the countryside, riding alongside clear brooks, and green mountains, you will surely forget all your troubles and only desire that the adventure might last forever.

I love cycling!

 

 

Health garden

Infertility could affect more men than women
男性可能多患不育症
Infertility may be affecting more men than women. Factors such as declining sperm counts, obesity, and smoking were largely to blame for the rise, which saw male infertility creep from 50 to 51 per cent. Experts also say that men are becoming fathers at an older age as their partners delay motherhood, resulting in their sperm being at increased risk of DNA damage, and thus making it less likely that fertilization will occur.



Majority of men have psychological problems
多数男性有心理疾患
A recent psychological survey shows that more than 60 percent of men in China, especially middle-aged men, experience psychological problems. The public has too high an expectation on men, plus the accelerating pace of daily life, as well as competitive pressure from work all become sources of psychological ailments for urban males. The experts believe that the most important spiritual "nutrients" for relieving psychological stress are first love, then guidance, next strong beliefs and ideals, and finally forgiveness.

Low-mercury fish help produce smarter babies
低汞含量鱼有益胎儿智力
A new study by Harvard University doctors concludes that pregnant women can boost their baby's intelligence by eating fish a couple of times a week, but only if they avoid varieties that contain large concentrations of mercury. Nearly all fish contain traces of mercury, but large marine species such as swordfish, shark and albacore tuna accumulate the highest levels. Sardines, herring, tinned light tuna, cod, and shrimp are considered good. Generally, the darker its meat, the higher a fish's mercury content.

Antibiotics not helpful for bronchitis
抗生素对支气管炎无助
Antibiotics make little difference to bronchitis sufferers hoping to recover their health, shows a British study. The study found that patients continue to cough for an average of 11 days after they see doctors, no matter whether they receive antibiotics or not. However, taking amoxicillin or erythromycin was found to reduce phlegm, shortness of breath, and other symptoms in less than one day.



Unique genes help older women get pregnant
独特基因助高龄妇女怀孕
Having a naturally conceived child at the age of 45 or older is rare, but scientists in Jerusalem have discovered that some mothers who do conceive children past that age seem to have a distinct genetic profile. Their research might help medical scientists develop better infertility treatments for older women and could provide a better understanding of the aging process.

 

Vocabulary
infertility 不育症
albacore 金枪鱼
herring 青鱼
bronchitis 支气管炎
amoxicillin 阿莫西林