Hey everyone, Did a search for a thread on just plain old cycling, but couldn't find any. So how many of us here go cycling around just for the fun of it? I'm not talking about competitive cycling, indoor cycling, dirt-bike racing etc. Well, when I need to release stress or get some fresh air I just go zooming around my neighbourhood. I have had a couple of close calls before, but never fell off my bike before.. or rather, yet. Does anyone here know how to do the nearly 90 degrees cycling on 1 wheel? I've seen some people do it before.. but I've no idea how to even lift my bike up. Cycling doesn't help our body much, does it? After 1 hour of cycling I'm just perspiring a bit..
You mean a wheelie right? I can do that! To perform a wheelie on a bicycle, put the bike in low gear and pedal forward while pulling hard on the handlebars. While the front wheel is in the air, maintain an upright posture and lean around to control balance - do not hunch over the handlebars. For added control, tap the rear brake (forward balance) or pedal forward (rearward balance). A wheelie can be maintained indefinitely. To complete the move, lean forward and allow the front wheel to drop back to the ground. Ensure it is straight on contact, or control of the bike may be lost. Once the wheelie has been conquered the manual wheelie can be attempted. This is the same as a wheelie but without pedalling. The bike is balanced by the rider's weight and sometimes use of the rear brake. That's form Wikipedia.
I used to love cycling. I don't do it so much these days because of time. I think it's a great exercise and it's low impact so you get few injuries. As much as I love badminton and football, there's nothing like the feeling of being able to freewheel down a large hill! I really don't get the same sense of joy from cycling in a gym!
Mountain biking is my type of cycling. When I was in college, the campus was located on a mountain and there were two state parks near the campus which has tons of trails to ride on. I try to mountain bike every weekend and because it's a great exercise. Those uphill climbs can be killer on your legs I'm contemplating whether to buy road tires to start biking on the road but I am leaning towards keeping my knobby tires. Knobby tires = more resistance so I get a better workout
Towards the end of summer last year I got back into cycling a bit. I bought myself a light cheap-ish road bike for exercise purposes (because I had put on some weight and didn't want to punish my poor knees by running) I could average about 26-27 kmh over about 30 km This summer it came out again and I could manage 29-30 kmh for the same distances. Then I rebuilt my old 15 speed mountain bike into a wide range (34-11) 7 speed road bike to commute to work on (40m = 60km round trip). Frame, forks, stem, handlebars and pedals was all that I kept, everything else was replaced with decent components. Now they're both back in storage until the good weather comes back.
Amazing. If I attempt to ride a bike that I myself actually modified.. I think everything will fall apart as soon as I get on it.. or perhaps after 1 or 2 km.
My original intention was to do it all myself, but in the end I got my local bike shop to put it all together for me.
I see.. still need a pro's help sometimes. Is there an advantage in cycling as compared to jogging? Forgive me for my ignorance.. cause I'll rather cycle 20 miles then jog 20 miles.. jogging is so boring.
Cycling is low impact on the joints compared to running/jogging. As I'm a veteran now, that is becoming more and more of a concern. Both cycling and jogging can be done at a variety of intensities to suit your own requirements. I find jogging more relaxing, relieves stress from being at work. Cycling you have to concentrate more on the road and traffic and where you're going, but you have the opportunity to cover a greater distance and see more scenery which makes it less boring. I don't like cycling in the rain, but I don't mind jogging in the rain. If you have an accident, the injuries will probably be different. With jogging I eexpect the most likely injury is going to be around the ankle/achilles. With cycling I expect it's more likely to be upper body that gets injured (guessing).
Cycling can create some knee problems. You may check out these articles for more information on how cycling can cause knee problems and how to prevent it: http://www.biomech.com/db_area/archives/1996/9607sports.bio.html http://www.bicyclesource.com/body/pain/knee-pain.shtml There are more articles on the internet, so please search around if you're cycling. From what I have heard and read in the past, as long as you setup your bike correctly and have good techniques, you can lessen the effect of knee damage.
Well, about what Neil Nicholls said about the cycling tending to require more attention, I guess it depends. After all, my mom loves biking through the streets with no hands on the handlebars (I think she's crazy for that), and she can steer and everything perfectly well. I know a lot of people who can multitask on a bike, eat and drink and all that (you can't really consume much while bouncing up and down, can you?) I also know a unicycler, goes up and down hills to get to school on one, and it's like second nature to him, he looks as calm as if he were just walking. As for biking though, I like it 'cause you get more scenery, and you can get around better (I go to town by bike sometimes), and if you really want a workout, go uphill by bike. It's harder than jogging up, and I know, 'cause I was going up this one big hill once, and I was a few minutes ahead of this jogger before I went up the hill, but they reached the top before I did, and only until we were turning back did I beat them (going downhill is also more awesome, I love the wind!).
