Cycling is a multitasking cardio workout that fries fat and demolishes stress without pounding you into the ground. Here's why it's time you tone your body and by getting yourself a set of wheels…

1. Burns Calories Rapidly
Even pedalling at an easy pace, a 60-kilogram woman will torch 473 calories in an hour. Upping your speed to 20-25 kilometres per hour will burn close to 591 calories. And at 32 kilometres per hour , you'll add 1000 calories (4200 kilojoules) to the burnt-it bank.

2. Your Joints Will Thank You
Because cycling is a low-impact way to get in shape, it's an oasis for runners or nearly anyone else with knee problems. "You develop muscle power and cardio endurance without getting beat up," says Jenni Gaertner, coach of the Riverstone Women's Racing.

3. You'll Get Great Legs
"Turning the pedals over 5400 times an hour gives you serious tone in your quads and calves," Gaertner says. "In other words, the muscles you notice when you're wearing heels and a mini." To really engage those muscles, focus on your pedal stroke. "Try to make a perfect circle," Gaertner says. Push forward and then down with your quads. Pull back with your hamstrings, as if you're wiping mud off the bottom of your shoe, and then use your calves and hip flexors to pull up and back. Stroke feeling choppy? Try pedalling with one leg at a time to expose the weak spots in your stroke. Then concentrate on the gaps when you're back to two feet.

4. Busts the Blues
According to British researchers who looked at the mental benefits of indoor versus outdoor exercise, 71 percent of people who worked out outside said they felt less tense afterward, while 72 percent of indoor exercisers felt more stressed than before.

5. Get in Shape and Save Cash
It’s pretty obvious, but if you ditch your car for your bicycle for commutes to work, you’ll save loads of cash on petrol. It also saves you sitting in traffic for hours.

6. You'll Become a Better Driver
When you ride a bike, you engage your entire body and mind. That kind of full-body hyper vigilance transfers to the steering wheel. "You don't notice just pedestrians and cyclists more," Gaertner says. "You become keenly aware of where cars are around you. It's a sixth sense you tap into no matter how you're travelling."

For more cycling tips go to www.bicycling.co.za