Bicycling for Fitness and
Commuting
June 3, 2018
The Bicycle, although
appearing simple in form and function, actually has a mysterious
origin and is nearly impossible to attribute its invention to a
single person. However, it is claimed that in 1817 a civil
servant from Germany named
Baron Karl von Drais invented
the
Draisienne
or “Dandy Horse” which had two wheels in tandem, no pedals,
leather covered tires, and a wooden beam for a frame. When
it was introduced to Paris it acquired the name
velocipede
until 1869 when the word
bicycle
was eventually used.
The phenomena of the bicycle
is the human’s ability to power oneself to a remarkable speed
without the use of any external motors or engines other than the
energy from the human itself. A “remarkable speed” may be
thought as one that is five times faster than walking (25 mph
versus 5 mph) but while expending only one-third the
energy, which means bicycling is very efficient. But a
reasonably fit cyclist can reach 45 mph and speed records on
bicycles have shown this only to be the starting point. In
2013, Tom Donhou, a bicycle builder from Hackney, London went 80
mph on a bike utilizing a front sprocket of 104 teeth (known as
a “chainring”), and the highest speed officially recorded was
89.95 mph set in 2016 by Todd Reichert.
.. it was
discovered that cycling
posed an inexpensive means of transportation, as well as
good physical exercise, ..
Bicycle used by Tom Donhou of London to Achieve 80 mph.
Soon after the bicycle was
invented, it was discovered that cycling posed an
inexpensive means of transportation, as well as good physical
exercise,
and that the
bicycle has potential for commuting. As a means of
commuting, bicycling offers potential health, economic, and
quality-of-life benefits. Bicycles are used for commuting
worldwide but especially common in places such as the
Netherlands. It is sometimes combined with public
transportation where you will see accommodations on trains,
buses, and subways for bike commuters to stow or carry their
bikes while riding the train or subway.
Commuting by Bicycle
However helpful the bicycle is
at allowing us to commute or travel, there are others who yearn
to take up cycling primarily for the sport or benefit of
exercise. Cycling has been unanimously qualified as an
activity supporting aerobic and anaerobic exercise. The
outdoor environment and scenic pathways typical of bicycle
outings offers something different to occupy the mind (versus
the gym treadmill monitor, for instance) and as a result, much
ground is covered while time flies by and the amount of calories
burned doubles. The popularity of cycling has caused
more than one billion bicycles around the world. The
heart, blood vessels, and lungs all get a workout and you will
breathe deeper improving your overall fitness level.
Along with increased cardiovascular fitness, you will experience
increased muscle strength and flexibility, improved joint
mobility, decreased stress levels, reduced body fat and excess
weight, and reduced depression and increase memory.
Research has shown that cycling reduces colon and breast cancer
risk, and lowers the risk of Type-2 Diabetes. It may even
help you sleep better.
The first bicycle race was in
1868 at Parc de Saint-Cloud, Paris over a course of 1,200
meters. It was won by Englishman James Moore who rode a
wooden bicycle with iron tires. This early bicycle is now
on display at a museum in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.
The sport of cycling has
acquired many forms including Road Cycling, Track Cycling,
Cyclo-Cross, Mountain Biking, BMX, and Cycle Speedway.
Road bicycle racing involves both individual and team
competitions and range from one-day road races to multi-stage
events over several weeks such as the Tour de France and the set
of similar events that make up the Grand Tour such as the Giro
d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. Stage-races over a few
days include the Tour de Suisse and Tour of California, and
one-day classics are the Tour of Flanders and Milan–San Remo.
The longest one-day road race sanctioned by USA Cycling is
Lotoja which covers 206 miles from Logan, Utah to Jackson,
Wyoming.
Criteriums
are races based on circuits
typically less than a mile in length and sometimes run for a set
time (60 min, 90 min, etc.) rather than a specific distance.
The Sport of Road Bicycle Racing
The introduction of the
Mountain Bike in the 1970s broke the pattern of the once popular
road bike (those bikes with the “skinny tires”). Mountain
Bikes, or MTBs, are designed specifically for off-road use on
mountain trails, fire roads, or other unpaved surfaces
incorporating full-front suspension, knobby tires, durable
wheels, powerful brakes, straight handlebars, and lower gear
ratios for climbing steep grades. Mountain biking became
popular in Northern California and the first mass produced
mountain bike was by the company Specialized, founded in 1974.
The concept of the mountain bike was partly borrowed to help the
road bike take on off-road terrain, and thus resulted in the
Hybrid Bike. Hybrid bikes are sometimes considered Urban
Commuters since they can handle the urban hazards of deep
potholes, drainage grates, and jumps off city curbs and have a
reasonably quick response with solid and predictable handling.
Mountain Biking
Whichever form of bicycling
one chooses, there is always the concern of the environment in
which the bicycle will be used in. Road cyclists will
always need to be alert to safety and of traffic conditions
since they will be following the same rules of the road as
motorists. Just about every form of cycling uses a type of
helmet with some donning body-armour (extreme mountain biking).
The environmental conditions in desert-cactus regions can
involve a hazard known as
Puncturevine
(tribulus
terrestris),
an invasive weedy plant which bear fruit drying into nutlets
with hard thorns that puncture bicycle tires in an instant.
Special
tire preparation is required to overcome
puncturevine
(also known as “Goat
Head Thorns”).
There are over one hundred
cycling advocacy organizations
in the United States whose
primary mission is to lobby for improved cycling conditions at
the local, state, and federal level. Leading these is
California with nearly 20
bicycle coalitions
throughout the state, followed
by Pennsylvania (12), Colorado (7), and Ohio (7). The
remaining 85 coalitions are distributed among forty other
states. Nationwide, organizations include the
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy which advocates the conversion of
abandoned rail lines into multi-use paths.
USA Cycling is the
national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States
and covers all disciplines of road, track, mountain bike,
cyclo-cross, and bicycle motocross (BMX).
.. which means bicycling is very efficient.
