Bicycling for Fitness and Fun

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BICYCLING CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

I‘m so excited to be sharing the sport of bicycling with you because it’s become the love of my life! The greatest thing about this sport is you can ride alone and set your own pace or you can ride with a friend or a group. Mass bike rides are terrific fun!

Bicycling is a pleasure that lets you get from point A to point B using your own abilities and traveling at your own speed. Bicycling not only provides this opportunity, but it also opens the door for you to experience and see the world around you and to appreciate the power of your own body.

Come with me and I’ll show you what it’s like … I want you to imagine the feel of the wind on your face and the way it caresses your body. Smell the freshly mowed grass, brewed coffee, baked bread, and fried bacon. Now smell the fields of corn and tobacco, cow and horse pastures, early morning dew, and other scents.

Feel the power in your legs as you push the pedals on your bike and notice the muscles in your hands and arms as you flex to apply the brakes. Observe the wildlife, trees, rivers and steams, the homes, and all the interesting people you pass. You can’t help but be struck by wonder as you pedal from place to place, communing with your inner self, reflecting on past situations, and mentally setting new goals for a healthier future.

It really doesn’t get any better than that!

THE AWAKENING

Before I married and had children, I was moderately active. But after marriage and four children, my duties consisted of shuttling the children to and from their activities, managing a household, and working an outside job. I didn’t have time to even think about my own health needs or to contemplate a physical routine for myself. I was a chain-smoker, weighed 279 pounds, and physical exercise was nonexistent in my daily life. I had no idea I was sitting on a hypertension time bomb until eight years ago. That’s when I woke up one morning and found that I couldn’t see very well out of my right eye.

I’m sure you have your own morning routine. You wake to the sound of an alarm clock and open one eye to make sure the clock isn’t cheating – and hasn’t somehow accelerated while you were asleep. So you rub your eyes several times between rechecking the time on the clock, hoping you have at least 30 more minutes to snooze.

Well, I did the "eye rub" routine several times before it became apparent to me that my right eye was sore and I couldn’t see out of it. Once this fact registered, I jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom, and hit the light switch as I stared in the mirror. What I saw made me scream! The conjunctiva covering the sclera of my right eye was blood red. Even my usual medium brown iris appeared partially red.

I was 45 years old and had never had any warning signs about the development of a possible health problem.

Who do you think I called? You’re right – my mother! She told me to call my doctor. He demanded that I meet him at the hospital immediately! At the hospital my doctor ordered numerous tests to determine if I’d had a stroke during the night and to discover what was happening to me physically.

After I’d finished all the tests, my doctor returned to the emergency room to discuss the results with me. In the past, he’d always been soft-spoken and very compassionate, but that day he was harsh and direct as he said, "The bottom line is you have hypertension. If you don’t change your lifestyle, you’re going to die!"

Then he told me what I needed to do to improve my chances for a well-rounded and healthy life.

What would you do if this happened to you?

My Lifestyle Change

Here’s what I did: I stopped eating red meats and pork. I increased my water intake and tripled my fresh vegetable and fruit consumption. I ate sensible portions of chicken, turkey, seafood, and lamb which was baked, steamed, or cooked in slow-cookware. I joined my local gym and a number of area activity clubs and monitored my calorie intake on a daily basis.

As a result, I’ve lost 105 pounds and have kept it off. I stopped smoking, began to regularly work out in the gym, and rode my bike as often as possible. Because of the change in my diet and a regular exercise routine, I have more energy and can readily participate in other sports such as swimming, racquetball, hiking, and camping. I’m healthier now than I’ve ever been, and I enjoy every day of my life.

Your Lifestyle Change

You may not be in the same shape I was in, but if you're reading this report, you probably do want to change your lifestyle and improve your health. So, let’s talk about how you can get started in bicycling to achieve better health and fitness.

SELECTING A TYPE OF BIKE

The type of bike you select will depend on the kind of riding you're going to do and the roads or trails you intend to ride.

First, you need to recognize that all bicycles are basically the same, although components may vary in quality, design, weight, ease, and method of use.

So, before you can select a bike, you must determine the following:

(1) what type of roads (paved or unpaved) or trails (smooth or rough) you intend to ride

(2) how often you plan to ride

(3) if you’ll ride long or short distances

(4) if you want to compete in races or ride for leisure.

You need to answer these important questions because there are different bikes for riding on specific types of terrain. There are road, hybrid, city and utility bikes, and the recumbent, which is the most recently invented bicycle.

If you’re an outdoorsy person already, you probably enjoy walking trails (dry or muddy), digging in the dirt, and roughhousing. You get an adrenaline charge when exposed to speed, competition, and risks. And you don’t mind being smeared with dirt or mud. If this sounds like you, mountain-biking just might be your calling.

Mountain Bikes

Mountain bikes have knobby tires, small frames, and low gears that make them ideal for dirt and rough trail riding, but slow and heavy on paved or smooth roads. In the 1990s, mountain bikes became so popular that many storeowners cut down their stocks of road bikes so they could meet the demand.

Road Bikes

Road bikes are high performance bikes used by riders who do long-distance riding and compete in bicycling competitions. These bikes are expensive and can range from under $800 to over $4,000 when purchased new.

Hybrids

Hybrids are suitable for riding on paved and unpaved surfaces. But they’re neither rugged enough to take on the pounding of strenuous, off-road mountain biking, nor are they a match for high-quality road bikes when it comes to long rides on pavement. A hybrid blends the light weight and speed of a sport-road bike with the rugged durability and versatility of a mountain bike.

Therefore, this is an excellent bike for riders who might (1) encounter paved or unpaved roads from time to time, (2) occasionally make long or short trips, and (3) want to race a little from time-to-time, but who don’t need, or want, a high-performance bike.

City and Utility Bikes

City/utility bikes are the first cousin to hybrids and are great bikes for commuting and city riding. These bikes are functional, easy to operate, and moderately priced.

A Good First Bike

I suggest that you purchase a Hybrid (used or new) as your first bike – if you’re a returning or first-time biker. I own a hybrid and a mountain bike and both have served me well. Although I really do prefer leisure/touring bike rides, and I’ve clocked pretty high speeds crossing bridges, hills, and valleys on my hybrid as a participant in fundraiser rides, occasionally I still ride my mountain bike. However, the joints don’t like it much!

Recumbent Bike

The Recumbent bike is longer than other bikes and has a small front wheel, which differs from the structure of traditional bikes. The rider’s position on this bike has also changed. The riders no longer sit up over the handlebars. Instead, they’re slightly reclined in a high-backed seat. It takes some getting used to, but once you do, you’ll find it to be very comfortable and more efficient when it comes to pedaling.

Women’s Bicycles

Recently, while having my bicycle tuned-up at a nearby bike shop, the owner told me of his plan to include in his bike collection road and mountain bicycles which he builds specifically for women. He continued the conversation by telling me that the inventor and designer of these bicycles (mountain and road) is Georgina Terry.

If you haven’t heard of this famous woman, Georgina Terry was a bike racer and trailblazer who opened the door of competitive bicycle racing to women. As a racer, Terry discovered women needed bikes with smaller frames to enhance their performance, and she realized that existing manufactures weren’t addressing that need. This is why Terry started her own bike-building business.

The bikes have a smaller front wheel in comparison to the back wheel, and the fork angle has been slightly altered to help women riders sit upright more comfortably. Ladies, you might want to check out bicycles created specifically for you prior to making your choice from the usual collection of traditional bikes that most department stores and bike shops offer.