15 August 2009

Biking

Sorry to disappoint, but this posting is not about a monarch who "swings both ways":-) It's a followup to this.

As exercise to improve condition, biking has much to recommend it. My first practice ride three weeks ago, up and down the block a few times, left me exhausted; yesterday's was nine miles and only mildly fatiguing. I still have two more weeks before my parking cancellation at work takes effect, but I'm pretty much ready to start relying on the bicycle for commuting right now. If you live within a moderate distance of your job, I highly recommend this option; the exercise will be beneficial, and even if you don't pay to park, you'll still save on gas.

A bicycle will not replace a car in all situations. Heavy rain, for example, would make a bike ride of several miles too unpleasant to contemplate. Any shopping trip which will require you to bring back more than a few pounds of goods will still require a car. Some routes just have too much traffic for a bicycle to be safe. But it can substitute much of the time.

Most telling of all, take a look at the people you see on bicycles on your town and notice how fit most of them appear compared with the average person these days.

I'm doing this after decades of largely sedentary existence. If I can do it, anyone can.

3 Comments:

Anonymous rita said...

Again, Yay for you!
I love the adage, "If I can do it anyone can." Exercise is always doable. As we all know, any kind of exercise in moderation is good.

15 August, 2009 14:24  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Thanks! I bet Coquille would be a good biking city -- it's very easy to use them for any trip of a mile or two, and the car traffic generally seems pretty light.

15 August, 2009 16:34  
Blogger Rita said...

I haven't ridden a bike in years. It's a good idea though. I see more people riding bikes around here then ever before.

15 August, 2009 22:56  

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