Cycling Outside - Like it? Love it? How to do it?

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

27 Feb 2006 02:00 PM

Riding a bike is a great way to get exercise. It's a fantastic way to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather. It can hardly feel like exercise at times unless you're going up and down hills. Outdoor cycling is a real test of the cardiovascular and muscle endurance. It's also all about power to push up the hard hills and maneuver through areas where you may need to ride with traffic, cut corners or even follow a bike trail.

Cycling offers lots of opportunities including indoor cycling on those days when you're rained out. Many gyms offer spinning classes (intense cycling courses) or stationary bikes for working out. What makes cycling great is that it is a typically low-impact sport and very easy for most people to do.

The wide variety of opportunities available to cyclists makes it a fun fitness tool. So if you're interested in cycling on a regular basis whether for pleasure or fitness or both. Here are a few things worth noting:

You have to wear a helmet. Most states have helmet laws when it comes to riding a bike, but it's just practical good sense. If you take a bad fall, you can get a nasty concussion. Rather than get concussed, where a nicely colored helmet and you can avoid it. Don't worry about looking out of place in a helmet. Serious cyclists wear them. Look at Lance Armstrong!

There are some other tools that can reduce the soreness of cycling (like a pained rear).

Cycling shoes provide a firm sole and that protects your feet from having to flex so many muscles. This allows you to get a solid leg workout without injuring or over training your feet.

Check out toe clips from your local sports store. They help you maintain control over the bike and can help make pedaling easier. The clip helps you maintain your foot's position on the pedal.

Padded bike shorts are part of the solution for your derriere. They offer extra padding between you and the bike seat. There are different styles of padding available for different styles of bikes and personal comfort.

Finally, if you really want to bike as your form of fitness and fun, you might want to consider replacing your seat. Traditionally, the seats are small, thin and hard. They are not remotely designed for comfort. Considering you can be riding for hours, it's amazing how uncomfortably they are designed. If you add a wider, more padded seat this will allow you to redistribute your weight on the seat and you get a longer, more comfortable ride.

Looking forward to spring and summer for riding? Pick out your gear and bike now - so that you can really enjoy the ride.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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ImAlive (40) 21 Apr 2006 06:59 AM

Careful with the wider seats. You will develop calouses regardless of the seat you ride. Small seats make small calouses. Wide seats make large bruises, and calouses on the inside of the thigh. It is not pleasant.

From personal experiece, if you are going to consistently spend an hour or more on the bike stick with the thin seat and tough it out. It takes about 2 weeks, but it's better in the end. (

Heather Long (16954) 21 Apr 2006 10:44 AM

Thanks for the tip on that. I've always used a smaller seat, so I didn't realize you'd get larger callouses off a larger seat. Makes a lot of sense though! Thanks for sharing!