Cycling is an easy and low-impact activity which can significantly improve individual fitness and which has the potential to have a major impact on public health. It can help to reduce the risk of a range of health problems, notably heart disease and cancer, the leading preventable causes of premature death.
In a country like the US, where obesityis at epidemic levels among adults and, more tragically, young people, one of the main benefits of cycling is that people can do it as part of their normal daily activity – by cycling to work, to see friends or to the shops – rather than having to create additional time for exercise.
One study found that people who cycle to work experienced a 39% lower rate of mortality compared to those who did not – even after adjustment for other risk factors, including leisure time physical activity. Getting on your bike can yield much the same health benefits as a specific training program. Cycling for an 30 minutes on most days of the week, combined with reducing calorie intake, can achieve weight loss comparable to that achieved by doing multiple aerobic classes a week. As well as improving physical health, cycling has a positive affect on emotional health –improving levels of well-being, self-confidence and tolerance to stress while reducing tiredness, difficulties with sleep and a range of medical symptoms.
One of the barriers to taking up cycling is a perception of the physical danger posed by motor traffic. However, the real risks are low and are signifcantly outweighed by the health benefits. It may be more risky to your health to be sedentary.
It’s vital for the health of the nation – and the health of the planet – that health and transport professionals focus on positive actions to encourage cycling, especially where a cycle journey will replace a car journey. Local and State transport and health authorities need to recognize the potential of cycling to improve many aspects of public health, and to make it part of a healthy transport strategy, devising safe cycling policies and promoting the use of cycling – by children and adults alike –on a daily basis.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
On Supplements
On long rides or long ride days on the tour, I always consume at least one water bottle mixed with a powder called Hammer Perpetuem ®. The Hammer Nutrition Company created this product for long bicycle rides and other high endurance endeavors. After trying many products over the years to mitigate the usual ill effects on the long haul, I have found that Perpetuem to be the best. The reason: Perpetuem provides sustained energy in the form of complex carbohydrates, soy protein, healthy fats, and key auxiliary nutrients such as sodium phosphate. The product also buffers lactic acid to prevent muscle fatigue. I can tell you that this stuff really works and 'no', I am not paid to say it; the rejuvenating effect is palpable, fast acting and long lasting. The downside for the minimalist tourer is that the stuff comes in a rather big jug. If you are on a long self-supported tour (weeks), it can be a space killer. I nevertheless choose to schlep it around. It is simply worth it.
In the heat of the summer, and particularly on full ride days, with every other water bottle, I take a couple of the Hammer Endurolyte ® capsules in order to stay on top of my salts loss. I like this product because Hammer recognized a few things that I agree with. First, most but not all salt loss is sodium chloride (table salt). Without getting too deep into the science, Hammer recognizes that there are potassium, magnesium and other salts that are lost through perspiration and that they need to be replaced. Even though these salts are lost in smaller amounts, on balance, the body still needs to replace the losses. Secondly, drinking Gatorade and other energy/electrolyte drinks may have some of these salts, but will not keep up with the total salt demand on a long hot ride day. And by the way, it is important to keep up with salts in order to keep the muscles working smoothly and avoid cramping. On long hot rides, it is also a good thing to eat snacks like pretzels and peanut butter crackers, too.
By the way, there are several other Hammer brand supplements I take as a matter of course for nutritional, anti-oxidant and tissue and joint health purposes.
Larry
In the heat of the summer, and particularly on full ride days, with every other water bottle, I take a couple of the Hammer Endurolyte ® capsules in order to stay on top of my salts loss. I like this product because Hammer recognized a few things that I agree with. First, most but not all salt loss is sodium chloride (table salt). Without getting too deep into the science, Hammer recognizes that there are potassium, magnesium and other salts that are lost through perspiration and that they need to be replaced. Even though these salts are lost in smaller amounts, on balance, the body still needs to replace the losses. Secondly, drinking Gatorade and other energy/electrolyte drinks may have some of these salts, but will not keep up with the total salt demand on a long hot ride day. And by the way, it is important to keep up with salts in order to keep the muscles working smoothly and avoid cramping. On long hot rides, it is also a good thing to eat snacks like pretzels and peanut butter crackers, too.
By the way, there are several other Hammer brand supplements I take as a matter of course for nutritional, anti-oxidant and tissue and joint health purposes.
Larry
Monday, March 9, 2009
Tours in the offing - part due
I am excited about an opportunity that has presented itself quite unexpectantly. My neighbor, who is aware of my bicycling exploits, put me in contact with some friends that cycle the Italian Alps every September. This year, from September 11 to 19, they will be based the entire time in Malcesine, Italy, on Lake Garda. I am sooooo much wanting to join them and am mulling it over (a dangerous thing for me).
They have planned five or six rides, with the emphasis totally on “vertical” rather than distance. The pace, as they so indicate, will be slow to moderate (everyone has their own ideas about that) but steady. The climbs vary from 500 or 600m vertical to 2,000m vertical or more. When climbing (or descending) the gradients typically are 6 - 9%, occasionally encountering a short double-digit stretch. I was glad to learn that the goal is always to get everyone to the top of the mountain, down the mountain safely. I am well-trained on hills, but mountains??
The nearest airport is Verona (VRN), which cannot be reached directly from the USA, but is reachable from all the major European air hubs. Obviously, I will be researching that further since the airline tickets will be the cost driver.
Because of their frequent visitor status, they have welcomed me into their hotel arrangement at 35 euro/night, which sounds very reasonable, U.S. dollar equivalent notwithstanding.
I fear that now that I have blogged it out, I may have started down the road to committment.
Larry
They have planned five or six rides, with the emphasis totally on “vertical” rather than distance. The pace, as they so indicate, will be slow to moderate (everyone has their own ideas about that) but steady. The climbs vary from 500 or 600m vertical to 2,000m vertical or more. When climbing (or descending) the gradients typically are 6 - 9%, occasionally encountering a short double-digit stretch. I was glad to learn that the goal is always to get everyone to the top of the mountain, down the mountain safely. I am well-trained on hills, but mountains??
The nearest airport is Verona (VRN), which cannot be reached directly from the USA, but is reachable from all the major European air hubs. Obviously, I will be researching that further since the airline tickets will be the cost driver.
Because of their frequent visitor status, they have welcomed me into their hotel arrangement at 35 euro/night, which sounds very reasonable, U.S. dollar equivalent notwithstanding.
I fear that now that I have blogged it out, I may have started down the road to committment.
Larry
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Cue sheet development
Over the course of my ride experience, I have come to particularly enjoy developing my own cue sheets for everything from local rides to interstate tours (haven't tried for parts outside of U.S.). While I would suggest that it is something almost anyone can do, I believe most would rather just be handed the ride plan and go.
I absolutely enjoy using the various on-line mapping tools, researching best bicycle roads, looking at various club website cues and even talking to knowledgeable people to develop cues. Certainly there are plenty of rides cues available on the Internet, but their datenesses and reliability can be suspect. I try to address traffic volume, availbility of shoulders or bikelanes else is it a country road, construction problems , trails to rails option, etc. The final product is usually an excel file accompanied with an on-line link mapping the route.
I have worked with several folks to develop custom cues for their rides. If you are interested in this subject or need this service, please let me know.
Larry
I absolutely enjoy using the various on-line mapping tools, researching best bicycle roads, looking at various club website cues and even talking to knowledgeable people to develop cues. Certainly there are plenty of rides cues available on the Internet, but their datenesses and reliability can be suspect. I try to address traffic volume, availbility of shoulders or bikelanes else is it a country road, construction problems , trails to rails option, etc. The final product is usually an excel file accompanied with an on-line link mapping the route.
I have worked with several folks to develop custom cues for their rides. If you are interested in this subject or need this service, please let me know.
Larry
Friday, March 6, 2009
Spring Forward
This weekend adds that extra hour of daylight so coveted by those of us who miss our evening rides. Bicycle clubs around the country begin their ride scheduling. Others will come out of the gyms, some for the first time since last fall. And many of us will resume commuting to work by bicycle with darkness and cold removed from both ends.
For those of us that train outside through the cold months, in my case mostly solo, the spring forward provides the welcomed gift of ride companionship. It is particularly exciting when the weather cooperates as in the present case of Maryland weather where we are having an amazing warm spell. Many of us around here are getting ready for the Icicle Metric Century on 28 March (link found on my website http://cycloscribe.com ). The Icicle starts and ends at the University of Deleware in Newark, De. It is a fairly hilly 62 miles, certainly an eye-opener for the first organized ride of the season given the combination of a cool morning start and lots of up and down. The only downside is the possibility for cold precipitation. If its not accumulating snow or ice, it is well attended and we all have fun.
For those of us that train outside through the cold months, in my case mostly solo, the spring forward provides the welcomed gift of ride companionship. It is particularly exciting when the weather cooperates as in the present case of Maryland weather where we are having an amazing warm spell. Many of us around here are getting ready for the Icicle Metric Century on 28 March (link found on my website http://cycloscribe.com ). The Icicle starts and ends at the University of Deleware in Newark, De. It is a fairly hilly 62 miles, certainly an eye-opener for the first organized ride of the season given the combination of a cool morning start and lots of up and down. The only downside is the possibility for cold precipitation. If its not accumulating snow or ice, it is well attended and we all have fun.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Its all about the bike
This one comes from my book 'Once Upon A Bike: A Florida to Maryland Bicycling Adventure', which for those of you who have not been following my shameless plugs, can be purchased through my website http://cycloscribe.com But this excerpt is free, albiet paraphrased some.
Of course, its not really all about the bike, as Lance Armstrong has so articulated, but I would strongly suggest that the right bike is critical to minimizing the chances for problems of the mechanical variety. There are enough concerns on the long road without having to deal with a steed constantly in need.
Many great choices are out there. There are many good sources of information to help determine what might work best for you, although in the final analysis, nothing works better than good old-fashioned test riding. Here's what worked for me:
I chose a 2007 Cannondale T2000, a pure touring bike. Of the several bikes I tested, the T2000 was, by far, the most comfortable and had the best gearing. That said, I did not test ride some of the more expensive models (Burley, CoMotion and Rivendell, to name those I can remember). I am sure they could have been good choices, but all were out of my price range. The T2000 set me back about $1,800. Here is what I got for my money (this gets into some technical and potentially boring bike-speak):
My T2000 has an aluminum touring geometry frame and a Fatty-R all-condition front fork, making for a very sturdy and dynamically stable platform for performance under load. The wheels are DT TK 7.1 36-hole machined rims outifiited with DT Swiss Competion spokes, also deisinged for load. The wheels were dressed standard with Schwalbe Marathon Kevlar-belted 700 x 37c reflective tires, which I will swear by as long as they make 'em.
The tranny includes a Shimano FC M470 Hollowtech 26/36/48 crank with a Shimano Tiagra front derailleur (so-so in the front)., and in the rear a SRAM PG-970, 11-34 nine speed cog with a Shimano XT rear derailleur. Original equipment also included the Shimano Ultegra STI shifters to control the whole affair, but I replaced them with the Shimano Dura-Ace bar-end shifters with front shifting in the friction mode. This change made finding the sweet spot for each gear much cleaner. The STIs would not satisfactorily index through the wide range of chain travel under load.
Also standard on the T2000 was a rear rack, to which I outfitted Sunlite waterproof panniers that performed well in the rain. I found it necessary to trade out the stock Fizik seat for a Brooks saddle which I spent my training months breaking in with no regrets. I was and remain delighted with the Satori Poise SC suspension seat post - the innovation of a modest shock absorber in the seat post made all fo the difference in the world.
I added a spacious Jandd handlebar bag, complete with side pockets, a front pocket, and a waterproof cue sheet sleeve on the top. Due to its size and weight (with stuff), I devised a stabilizier to minimize bouncing and take the shear stress off of the mounting bolts.
I alos added the Garmin 705 GPS bicycle computer, which was new technology at the time. It proved extremely beneficial and interesting, but was a diappointment in several respects (a blog for another time; it would be interesting to hear from others on this). After my trip, Garmin sent me the link to upload the software patches that were needed to correct the problems.
After equipping the bicycle with all of the above and a full load, I discovered that a flashing taillight mounted directly to the rear rack was hopelessly obscured by the panniers and rack load. So, I fabricated a two light assembly that mounted to the rear rack and protruded beyond the rear panniers with one conspicuous Blackburn watereproof flashing LED taillight on each side of the bicycle.
Now you know my touring bike!
Larry
Of course, its not really all about the bike, as Lance Armstrong has so articulated, but I would strongly suggest that the right bike is critical to minimizing the chances for problems of the mechanical variety. There are enough concerns on the long road without having to deal with a steed constantly in need.
Many great choices are out there. There are many good sources of information to help determine what might work best for you, although in the final analysis, nothing works better than good old-fashioned test riding. Here's what worked for me:
I chose a 2007 Cannondale T2000, a pure touring bike. Of the several bikes I tested, the T2000 was, by far, the most comfortable and had the best gearing. That said, I did not test ride some of the more expensive models (Burley, CoMotion and Rivendell, to name those I can remember). I am sure they could have been good choices, but all were out of my price range. The T2000 set me back about $1,800. Here is what I got for my money (this gets into some technical and potentially boring bike-speak):
My T2000 has an aluminum touring geometry frame and a Fatty-R all-condition front fork, making for a very sturdy and dynamically stable platform for performance under load. The wheels are DT TK 7.1 36-hole machined rims outifiited with DT Swiss Competion spokes, also deisinged for load. The wheels were dressed standard with Schwalbe Marathon Kevlar-belted 700 x 37c reflective tires, which I will swear by as long as they make 'em.
The tranny includes a Shimano FC M470 Hollowtech 26/36/48 crank with a Shimano Tiagra front derailleur (so-so in the front)., and in the rear a SRAM PG-970, 11-34 nine speed cog with a Shimano XT rear derailleur. Original equipment also included the Shimano Ultegra STI shifters to control the whole affair, but I replaced them with the Shimano Dura-Ace bar-end shifters with front shifting in the friction mode. This change made finding the sweet spot for each gear much cleaner. The STIs would not satisfactorily index through the wide range of chain travel under load.
Also standard on the T2000 was a rear rack, to which I outfitted Sunlite waterproof panniers that performed well in the rain. I found it necessary to trade out the stock Fizik seat for a Brooks saddle which I spent my training months breaking in with no regrets. I was and remain delighted with the Satori Poise SC suspension seat post - the innovation of a modest shock absorber in the seat post made all fo the difference in the world.
I added a spacious Jandd handlebar bag, complete with side pockets, a front pocket, and a waterproof cue sheet sleeve on the top. Due to its size and weight (with stuff), I devised a stabilizier to minimize bouncing and take the shear stress off of the mounting bolts.
I alos added the Garmin 705 GPS bicycle computer, which was new technology at the time. It proved extremely beneficial and interesting, but was a diappointment in several respects (a blog for another time; it would be interesting to hear from others on this). After my trip, Garmin sent me the link to upload the software patches that were needed to correct the problems.
After equipping the bicycle with all of the above and a full load, I discovered that a flashing taillight mounted directly to the rear rack was hopelessly obscured by the panniers and rack load. So, I fabricated a two light assembly that mounted to the rear rack and protruded beyond the rear panniers with one conspicuous Blackburn watereproof flashing LED taillight on each side of the bicycle.
Now you know my touring bike!
Larry
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tours in the offing
A few blogs ago, I whined on a bit about not having a tour ride identifed in the near term. True enough, but as it turns out, things are not as bad as all that. The spring and summer should shape up nicely and 2010 offers hope for an 8 to 10 day outing.
I decided this year that I would finally join several of my friends on their MS ride, a two day ride covering 150 miles, all the while generating needed funds for a very important cause (see my last blog for more details on that). Additionally, I have interested several other friends in touring, maybe as a result of blogging and bloviating; who knows. One wants to do a two day ride this spring or summer (I am going to try to talk him into 3 days). Add to all that my usual smattering of centuries and club rides (my roadie life), and this year should be quite exciting. I am also looking forward to the prospect of reuniting with two high school track friends whom I have not seen in 35 years (now you know I am an old fart). I was able to find them through facebook and we may participate together in a September or October century ride.
Next year is shaping up for a Maryland to Maine ride, starting in my home town of Bel Air and finishing up in Bar Harbor. For me personally, this would complete my east coast aspirations, since I have already completed and written about my Florida to Maryland ride (check out my website and book and http://cycloscribe.com . There is also a link there for the MS ride.) What is particularly exciting to me is that I will not be going solo this time. There will be at least two other riders, one a close personal friend.
I am hoping that in 2011 another friend and I will ride to Dearborn, Michigan. I have completely planned that one out, but have not gained traction with my buddy as to any committment. I really should just shame him into it. One has to be careful about these things.
A transamerica is in the offing in the 2012/13 timeframe. Presently I am leaning toward the Adventure Cycling Association bicentennial routing (Virigina to Oregon), but remain very flexible at this early date. I used the Adventure Cycling Association maps for my FLto MD ride and had a love/hate affair with the routing. I talk about this is detail in my book. I will continue to look for partners on this one. I will also continue to figure out how in the world to take almost two months out of my life to do this. A subject for another blog, no doubt.
I am getting tired of talking about me. Please chime in.
I decided this year that I would finally join several of my friends on their MS ride, a two day ride covering 150 miles, all the while generating needed funds for a very important cause (see my last blog for more details on that). Additionally, I have interested several other friends in touring, maybe as a result of blogging and bloviating; who knows. One wants to do a two day ride this spring or summer (I am going to try to talk him into 3 days). Add to all that my usual smattering of centuries and club rides (my roadie life), and this year should be quite exciting. I am also looking forward to the prospect of reuniting with two high school track friends whom I have not seen in 35 years (now you know I am an old fart). I was able to find them through facebook and we may participate together in a September or October century ride.
Next year is shaping up for a Maryland to Maine ride, starting in my home town of Bel Air and finishing up in Bar Harbor. For me personally, this would complete my east coast aspirations, since I have already completed and written about my Florida to Maryland ride (check out my website and book and http://cycloscribe.com . There is also a link there for the MS ride.) What is particularly exciting to me is that I will not be going solo this time. There will be at least two other riders, one a close personal friend.
I am hoping that in 2011 another friend and I will ride to Dearborn, Michigan. I have completely planned that one out, but have not gained traction with my buddy as to any committment. I really should just shame him into it. One has to be careful about these things.
A transamerica is in the offing in the 2012/13 timeframe. Presently I am leaning toward the Adventure Cycling Association bicentennial routing (Virigina to Oregon), but remain very flexible at this early date. I used the Adventure Cycling Association maps for my FLto MD ride and had a love/hate affair with the routing. I talk about this is detail in my book. I will continue to look for partners on this one. I will also continue to figure out how in the world to take almost two months out of my life to do this. A subject for another blog, no doubt.
I am getting tired of talking about me. Please chime in.
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