Does Your City Have A Bike Share Program?

toutmonpossible

The city I live in will launch a bike share program presently. I've signed up because it's a great idea for the city to become more bike-friendly and I may buy a new bike of my own some day. My French touring bike was stolen decades ago and I never replaced it. The city program permits unlimited rides of up to 45 minutes.

Is riding on busy city bike paths good exercise or just a little fun activity (which I'll happily accept)? My program has sturdy looking commuter bikes, built for comfort, not speed. I also intend to ride very conservatively. I've encountered some crazy cyclists and motorists out there.

toutmonpossible

No one else lives in a city with a bike share program?

rickyberkey

My city (Columbus, Indiana) just got a bike share program and my motivation to start using it was just to help ensure its success but I have found that it has motivated me once again to get serious about my weight loss program and to once again commit myself to counting calories with MyFitnessPal. My physical effort with the cycling is fairly minimal but just that daily commitment to exercise has motivated better eating as well.

NorthCascades

Seattle has a bike share program called Pronto. Ours is limited by several factors. I rent a Pronto bike occasionally; I have my own, but mine is really nice, and I don't want to leave it outside the grocery store even locked up, but I don't like to drive either.

toutmonpossible wrote: »

Is riding on busy city bike paths good exercise or just a little fun activity (which I'll happily accept)?

It can be a little bit of exercise or a lot, depending what you put into it. If you coast a lot and don't push yourself to go fast, then it's a fun activity which also burns a little bit of calories, but if you pretend you're going to be in le Tour some day, it's a fun activity that burns lots of calories. Either way it's good for your heart and your lungs and your leg muscles too. It gets you outside which makes people happy and reduces anxiety. It's a way of moving around that encourages you to enjoy gardens and parks as you go by, and maybe even to talk to other cyclists or pedestrians when you stop at a light or for the scenery. Bicycling is wonderful and if you're so inclined, you should take it up and enjoy it.

mjwarbeck

We have one in Toronto....cannot say that I've ever used it.

wizzybeth

My small town has one. It's hard to ride bikes around here though. Not much by way of bike paths OR shoulders on the roads. But there are several bikes at different businesses around town. It is a nice gesture and I occasionally see tourists using them.

pomegranatecloud

Mine does, but I have my own bike. Biking in a city isn't as scary as it seems. Be careful if riding along parked cars because very few people look before opening their doors.