Bicycling: the new Ritalin?

I'm currently undergoing hours of psychological testing to determine if I have ADD (or ADHD). I had no idea that psych testing could be so demanding. After just two hours yesterday morning, I was exhausted and had a splitting headache. My doctor assures me that was the worst of the testing. We shall see.

Anyway, I logged in to Facebook this afternoon to answer a message in my inbox and right at the top of my newsfeed was a post by Bicycling Magazine. "Big question," it read. "Can cycling treat ADHD better than Ritalin? For some, the answer is yes." I was hooked. I clicked on the link and read with fascination about Adam Leibovitz's experiment.

Leibovitz, diagnosed with ADHD, is seeking to see if there is a connection between exercise and improved focus for those with an attention deficit. The two-page article on Bicycling Magazine's website talks about Leibovitz's decision to medicate himself through bike racing. It also details current research, what little there is, on the subject of exercise and ADHD.

The results? Leibovitz is more focused on his school work and he's becoming quite the racer. (He's on the college team and won a conference criterium.)

I guess all those miles I put in on my bike may be just the "Ritalin" I need.