Category: cycling (Page 31 of 37)

We rode a hybrid version of the 64 mile route of “Psycle for Families” event.  We cut off about 6 miles to avoid a bad-ass dog that is always noted on the map and pre-ride info – so he must be one bad boy!

“Psycle for Families” is a nice ride for a very good cause – Edmond Family Counseling.  For some reason, it seems to be undiscovered by most of the cyclists in the area. This year there were only 51 people registered to ride, with fewer than that at the start. The fact that it’s smaller isn’t a problem for me, but it would be nice if more cyclists supported it. The bike ride is one of Edmond Family Counseling’s main fundraising events. This was the 6th year for the ride – the complementary t-shirts are always cool looking, one of the best of any bike event.

In addition to the 64 and 32 mile routes, there was a 14 mile option.  We were escorted from the UCO Wellness Center where the ride started, by the Oklahoma County Sherriff’s office allowing us to proceed through stop signs and traffic lights until we were further south – always a thrill – and no I’m not one of those bike riders that goes through stop signs or red traffic lights – just to be clear.  We had well-stocked water/goodie stops and friendly EFC staff and volunteers, a very nice group of people.

We enjoyed the ride a lot. We ended up with 56 miles, we rode from home and back.  It was our top mileage for the year thus far, I had to put the brakes on exercise and training in late January and actually got clearance just last week to go full speed ahead.  A big relief and cause for celebration.  I had a scare, but fortunately I’m one of the lucky ones who can bike or run to my heart’s content!

Today I feel like I got my life back.  Since January 28th I’ve been in a cycle (not the kind of cycle I usually write about) of worry and wait. 

After 10+ weeks of tests, appointments and stress, I was told by my primary doctor today that I can get back to my life.  The biking, running, driving, LIVING part of my life.

Welcome back life, I’ve missed you.

For now… only for now.

The question is this:

What is the equation to calculate how many hours of yard work equal how many miles of cycling?

It is only fair, yard work is seriously eating into my biking time, not to mention energy, and I feel I should get some credit!

Yard Makeover VIEW SLIDE SHOW

What a beautiful day for a bike ride!  Cooler spring temperatures and light winds. 

Both are rare in Oklahoma!

Did I mention the beautiful Blue skies?

 

 

Twenty miles of fun on a bike.

Started off my morning with yoga and ended the day with a bike ride.

I can’t improve on that.  I love that I am able to ride again.  Hope you also had a chance to do something good for yourself.

 

For the Love of Bikes is happy to offer this guest post by Frederick Su~

Fred and Taz, a 50 lb Chow Chow, who loves to ride!

To see the sense of joy on a child’s face as he or she bicycles along with a newfound sense of freedom is to recognize the emotion of motion. Free, not from gravity, but from the constraints of the striding mechanics of walking or running, the child now recognizes the ease of bicycling and how this rolling method of locomotion is so efficient that he or she can easily pass a walking adult.

Somehow on the long road to middle age, many children and even young adults who once rode bicycles, suddenly eschew this mode of travel for the motor vehicle. Their thinking probably goes something like these thoughts: “I’m too old to bicycle.” “I’m in a hurry and a bicycle takes too long.” “I don’t want to get hit by a truck.” “It’s raining.” “It’s too hilly.” “The roads don’t have good shoulders.” “I’m worth more now as an individual and I need to show my net worth when I drive.” “It’s faster in a car.” "I don’t want to break a sweat and have to change at work."

I can only argue that those who eschew the bicycle eschew joy. Pure and simple, the modern multispeed bicycle is one of the greatest inventions of all time. In my mind, it is greater than the internal combustion engine and the airplane. It is a fitness machine on steroids that allows the world to pass beneath your feet. On a bicycle, you are a like a pioneer, subject to all that Mother Nature can throw at you. You are subject to her tantrums and her beneficence. Moreover, recent research has shown that exercising outdoors has much greater benefits for you than exercising indoors. Apparently, expanding the horizons of your experiences also expands the joy.

You are the engine of your travels. The bicycle is powered primarily by your legs, lungs, and heart. As one 90-year-old gentleman remarked to my wife and me, “Keep your legs moving.” In middle age, we all slow down and tend to put on more pounds. Without exercise and a healthful diet, we can easily slide into obesity and incur such health problems as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. My philosophy is to suffer the exercise or suffer the disease. Which would you prefer?

© 2011 by Frederick Su / www.bytewrite.com