Your thoughts on bike riding?

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  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    My thoughts on bike riding - it should be done after swimming, and before running.


    Seriously though, aside from all the other great info here, if you have some kind of road cycling course available to you, it's a great idea to take one. Here we have the Can Bike 2 course. I learned so much, including a ton how to drive on the road, and I am very familiar with the motor vehicle act. There were just things I had never considered. It made me way more comfortable on the road. You can also learn a lot by joining local cycling groups who do group rides.

    PS

    Coasting burns no calories.

    ABP.

    ALWAYS BE PEDALING

    Love this.
  • samntha14
    samntha14 Posts: 2,084 Member
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    Personally I don't use a helmet - I never have and in fact extensive research has shown that the crucial part that needs to be covered and protected, i.e the temporal area of the skull, is often not protected at all, even by the best helmets, so I have serious doubts about their effectiveness. However, that is my choice but I haven't injured my head in nearly 50 years of cycling without a helmet and I am not going to start wearing one now.

    Your body and your choice.

    I have two friends who now own helmets that have been broken in half due to falls - one got sideswiped by a car and lost control and smashed headfirst into a telephone pole, the other had a massive blowout down a steep hill, was thrown over the bars and slammed into a concrete wall. In both cases, the absorption capabilities of the helmet provided two benefits:

    1. It protected their respective skulls from being split open, and
    2. It absorbed some of the shock from being transmitted to the neck and other supporting structures, reducing injury in those areas.

    The concrete wall accident also resulted in a broken collarbone (he hit the wall at an angle). The telephone pole one was a "walk away" (he had to, because the bike was a twisted pile of write-off and the car had driven off).

    Helmet on head before *kitten* on seat. But I hope you remain as lucky as you have been so far. I've certainly never "needed" my helmet, but it's hard to put one on when in the course of having an accident.
    Dude, I can say for certain that a good helmet has SAVED my husband's LIFE on more than one occasion. He has the x-rays and hospital bills to prove it. Granted it won't help you if you fall on your face, so don't fall on your face.
  • KC4800
    KC4800 Posts: 140 Member
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    I will always wear a helmet because it straps my baseball cap down so it won't blow off when I hit 20 mph. :)

    Why do I wear a ball cap? The brim protects my face from the sun, a more likely danger, I don't want a sun burned nose. Also in rain, my brim keeps my glasses dry, so I can see better.

    If a car hits me, yeah, a helmet might not be much help, but Im more likely to hit a pothole and fall off, and maybe the helmet saves me. Plus mine is bright red and white, making me more visible.

    Many good reasons one should not be without a helmet.
  • tadpole242
    tadpole242 Posts: 507 Member
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    Back in 1999 I was cycling to work, when a car drove over me, (driver actually stopped the car on top of me) my helmet was all that protected my skull from the bolt that pierced my helmet and stuck in to my head about half an inch. The ambulance crew and the police who attended the accident all agreed that had I not been wearing my helmet, I’d have been at best dead and at worse 100% disabled. Took a couple of years to get me walking and talking properly again, but I was in a better place than what might have been had I not been wearing a helmet.
    Wear a helmet, if not for you, for you family who may need to look after you.
  • virjenmarie
    virjenmarie Posts: 22 Member
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    I never learned how to ride a bike always wanted to but never had a chance. The stationary bike in my gym is my favorite is it the same a riding a bike outside? I spend like two hours sometimes on it or 30 at 14 mile per hour.
  • mcn79
    mcn79 Posts: 112 Member
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    PS

    Coasting burns no calories.

    ABP.

    ALWAYS BE PEDALING

    This was running through my head throughout my entire ride last night. I'm thrilled to report I finally broke 10 mph. My new goal is 12 mph. From there? Who knows!
  • Weezoh
    Weezoh Posts: 171 Member
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    Good job! I went out this morning and was happy to see my average cadence improving and avg speed was up to 11. This was a captain only ride on a tandem so I was very pleased - definitely harder without my stoker backe there especially since she's lost so much weight her power / weight ratio is definitely skewed in our favor :)
  • bloomlately
    bloomlately Posts: 532 Member
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    A bicycle is my 6 month treat for keeping up an exercise program. I live in Austin and people looooove to ride here. There are always packs of riders out on weekends. I suspect Lance Armstrong had something to do with its popularity.
  • dotti1121
    dotti1121 Posts: 751 Member
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    I've just recently taken up bike riding and LOVE it! Definitely addicting! And I could see results after 2 weeks in my legs! More toned overall, especially my thighs :)

    There are lots of riding trails nearby so we try to switch up locations as to not get bored...

    LOVE it!
  • Brengild
    Brengild Posts: 127
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    I love my bike and speed is not of any interest to me. I go at a 10-12MPH pace and I know I burn calories at that pace. We have a lot of nice local rail trails so I am off the road, I just dont feel confortable on the road. It is addicting, my daughter and I rode Ragbrai, a local ride across the state of Iowa in a week. Tons of fun! I must agree with those who say wear a helmet. On an organized ride with my other daughter she went down and I heard her helmet impact the pavement. That would have been her skull. That helmet was worth every penny! That said, have fun, it is the most fun excercise in my opinion!

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