Cycling towards mid-life crisis?

Buying a bicycle appears to have replaced buying a flashy sports car as the tell-tale sign of a man speeding towards a mid- life crisis.

While spokes and chains might not have the same allure as turbochargers and sunroofs, for men wanting to halt the passage of time, pedal power is winning out over horse power.

A bike might lack the look of a Porsche or a Ferrari but, according to the experts, it can send out the message that its rider has the appealing qualities of being fit, rugged and concerned for the planet.

In Britain, a report released this month by market researchers Mintel has revealed a huge surge in the number of middle-aged men buying bikes. Figures show more than half of British men aged 35 to 44 now own a bike.

Mintel has dubbed the upsurge in bike sales the noughties version of the mid- life crisis and predicts Britons will spend [PndStlg]700 million ($1.5 billion) on bikes this year.

For Kiwi men in the same age bracket, buying a bike appears to have almost become a rite of passage.

"There's definitely been a big increase in that segment of the market," said David Shepherd, who manages the Chain Reaction cycle shop in Christchurch. "I'm not sure if it's necessarily because they're having a mid-life crisis. I think it's probably got more to do with them having more disposable income and wanting to find a way they can stay fit and have fun with their mates."

The amount the men were spending on cycles varied, but typically ranged from $3000 to $10,000.

However, for many men the cost of staying youthful and free-wheeling is measured in more than just dollar terms. Figures released to the Sunday Star-Times show that in the year ended June 2010, men aged 35 to 44 made close to $10m worth of ACC claims for injuries sustained while cycling. That is nearly double the amount claimed by the same age group five years ago.

ACC spokesman Laurie Edwards said while cycling was a good way for middle-aged men to keep fit and healthy, it was important they did it safely. "We'd recommend that anyone thinking about getting into cycling visit website www.activesmart.co.nz for a free training plan, safety tips, nutrition tips, etc."

Psychologist Sara Chatwin said she had several middle- aged men as clients who had taken up cycling because they had decided they had come to a point in their lives where they needed to make some positive changes. Cycling gave them time on their own to think, but was fun and kept them fit.

Chatwin said labelling those men as having a mid-life crisis was unfair: "I don't feel it is any kind of crisis for someone to say 'shivers, I want to be fit and healthy, I'm going to buy a bike'."

- © Fairfax NZ News