Comments on: Cycling is not just poor man’s transportation

By: ohio cyclist

ohio cyclist — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:38:54 +0000

How about ….

Eco-Fun-inomical

for

Eco-friendly
Fun
Economical

By: chunkymonkeybiker

chunkymonkeybiker — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:44:56 +0000

After commuting for as little as 2 weeks, you can feel your clothes getting looser, and your muscles getting tighter. I like that.

By: cafn8

cafn8 — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:49:46 +0000

Mindy, well said. I couldn’t agree more. One reason would not be sufficient.

When I DON’T ride (I still own a car) I feel so sluggish and groggy (sloggy) that remembering how I felt the next morning is usually enough incentive to get me up the half hour earlier. The energy and endorphin-induced euphoria I feel when I get to work are additional rewards.it took a while to get to the point where the hurt and fatigue were outweighed by the good feelings (a few weeks of riding consistently), but now I really don’t like driving to work as compared to riding.

By: Mindy

Mindy — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 05:04:05 +0000

I know the opinion is out there that we should stop preaching about the health and environmental and financial benefits of bike commuting — it’s all about fun fun fun! Now I’ll agree it IS fun, and we should certainly mention fun as one benefit, but cycling’s not ALWAYS fun, not to me and I’ll bet I’m not the only one. Riding to work in a soaking rain is just not a good time, nor is dragging extra clothes around, going uphill against the wind, etc etc.

To me, it’s important to have backup reasons for riding. If it’s 108 degrees out, and here in Tucson it does get that hot, that’s okay, I’m going to ride anyway because I care about Earth. If some days I’m too discouraged to care about the planet because it seems nobody else does, well, there are still the health benefits to riding. If my legs are still tired from YESTERDAY’s ride, I’m still gonna ride today, because if I quit biking, I’ll have to buy another car and give up my part-time job and work full-time again.

The list of reasons to bike commute is a long one, and we shouldn’t dismiss or belittle any of the benefits.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:06:18 +0000

For those of you suffering from lower back pain:

Strengthen your abs. Cycling requires a balance of strength between your abs and lower back, but unfortunately your abs don’t get stronger from cycling. Before I started working my abs, I had lower back pain. Now, I can ride 20 miles hunched over my road bike with no problem.

For a word to describe the fun of cycling, how about “breezy”? It conveys a lifestyle akin to that of driving a convertible.

By: matthew booth

matthew booth — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:00:19 +0000

Thanks everyone for the tips for the pain! I got some new things to try…

BTW whoever said riding a bike is a poor mans transportation has never had to buy front/rear lighting, an adequate lock, pannier rack and panniers, and all of the other parts and gear that’s “necessary” to have a decent commuter.

By: Quinn

Quinn — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:45:22 +0000

Matthew,

I deal with back and arm pain daily also, try lengthening the cockpit (seat back and longer stem) for your back, numb fingers, ego-style grips.
those are just 2 of the mainy adaptations I’ve had to make.

By: froggysmc

froggysmc — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:16:45 +0000

I’d have to agree with Matthew about the journey being more rewarding than necessarily fun. It has its moments, but the satisfaction remains regardless, extending beyond the fun, the economics, or even the exercise. So what about “freewarding” as a moniker?

By: Cafn8

Cafn8 — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:13:41 +0000

I know this is kind of off topic from the original post, but I find that when I’m a little cramped on a bike, my lower back starts to hurt. For example, I at one point I rode my mountain bike as my daily commuter. When I had a had a mechanical failure, I started taking my wife’s bike. The reach to the bars was a bit short and low, and after a day or two I developed lower back pain. After a couple more days of this I decided to flip the stem to give myself some rise instead of drop. The bars were still too close, but my back was straighter and the pain went away. Likewise, when I’m on my road bike I’m pretty low, but the bars are far enough away to keep my back from getting too crunched.

As for the wrists, I love bar ends (another reason I don’t like my wife’s bike with its carbon fiber riser bars.) The “palms inward” position feels much better to my wrists than the “palms downward” position. On my mountain bike I like to grab the bar ends when I can, but I really prefer drop bars for long distances. No wrist pain at all.

By: Hayduke

Hayduke — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:30:56 +0000

@Matthew: Try adding a set of MTB bar ends to your handlebars. These will give you a cheap way to get alternate hand positions during your rides and good leverage for climbing hills. No matter what bars you have on your bike if you stay in the same position you will get pain somewhere. Some bars offer more options but the key is to mix it up regardless. Good luck and ride safe!