Only a small percentage of the Maltese people realize that riding a bike instead of driving a car saves the noise, stinks, and congestion of the internal combustion engine, particularly the excessive emissions from those used Japanese-imported turbo-charged diesel engines. The major part prefer to use their car instead, even if it has got higher emission levels than most modern buses!! In Malta, a cyclist is a rare sight - "trained commuters" much much more. In here, commuting out of town by bike is never considered as an option, which in my opinion is something we should be ashamed of, considering the small size of our country! Do you know the personal benefits of cycle commuting? Cycling offers pleasure, companionship if you usually ride with friends, cost savings (especially if you leave your car parked in the garage every time you commute), time savings (combining workout with commuting), reduced stress, and cardiovascular fitness. A bike can be considered as a "fitness club on two wheels." Riding is real fun and makes you feel really good.
"Do you know how to ride a bike?" Almost everyone would say, "Of course, I learned as a kid." But watch people riding bikes. You will see that only a few riders, perhaps 5 percent, show true proficiency by steering accurately, pedaling easily at a brisk cadence, and riding fast. They have to go fast since they ride at least 2000 miles/year!
You will also see many novice riders who weave and wobble, as they grind their pedals slowly (less than 60 rpm) to ride sluggishly (6-12 mph). Novices usually ride less than 500 mi/yr. Many run traffic lights, ride on the sidewalk or the wrong side of the road, ride too fast downhill and wear no helmet. Novices have about five times the crash rate as experienced riders even though they are much less likely to ride in rush-hour traffic in foul weather or after dark. Obviously, there is more to cycling than balance. Now, ask yourself again, do you know how to ride a bike?
Shifting always seems to work best if you let up on the pedals for just an instant (not even half a second). You don't have to stop pedaling (indeed, you should always pedal while shifting), just don't push as hard when you shift. When you are doing it right, it feels like a slight pause in your pedaling. This reduces the stress on the chain, and allows it to jump to the new gear easier.
The best pedaling cadence is a little faster than initially feels comfortable. Push your self to pedal faster. The easiest way it to select a gear that is one easier than you really capable of pushing. Pedal Faster, Not harder. That causes your feet to go around faster to achieve the same speed down the road. You can do this all day. Using too hard a gear is tiring, it will wear you out in no time. Pedaling faster gets to be second nature after a while. Some will quote you specific numbers of pedal revolutions per minute for which you should strive. I too have my opinion about this, but NOT for someone just starting out on a multi-speed bike. Just pedal a little faster than initially seems comfortable. If you thighs hurt, raise your seat. If your knees hurt select an easier gear. Another important technique is try to pedal in circles rather than stomping the pedals down. If you have clipless-pedals or toe-clips, you can try to pull up on the pedal with your foot as the pedal is coming up. You can't usually really pull up, but by trying to do so will help yourself learn to pedal in circles. This is less fatiguing and brings more muscles into play to spread the work.
You've probably seen people bobbing back and forth as they ride. They are "lumbering" along pushing too hard, and if you sneak up behind them (easy to do because they are sloooooow) you will see they are using the small cogs in the rear. They should shift to an easier (larger) gear and spin the cranks faster. It's easier, they won't bob, and they will go faster. And they won't get tired so soon. (The bobbing back and forth does not help one bit. It just wastes energy and makes you look silly!)
As you get stronger, the speed you actually travel will be faster but your level of effort will seem the same. It never gets easier. The speed you settle for today will seem slow in just a month or two or riding as your strength builds. If you work too hard in the beginning you may get discouraged, so shift to an easier gear and give your legs time to get stronger.
The Life Cycle Organisation was founded in 1999 with the aim of creating awareness and generating support for patients suffering from end stage renal failure (chronic kidney disease). - www.lifecyclechallenge.com
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, and when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
"Getting up at six and racing up a col from the gun is a bitch." - Jacky Durand
"Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world." - Grant Peterson
"Don't be afraid of going fast and getting hurt. (You can always wear black stockings to cover up the scars!) You just have to forget what your parents taught you--stuff like being careful, looking good and catching the best man available." - Marla Streb
"To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain - at cycling's core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn't matter if you're sprinting for an Olympic medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you never confront pain, you're missing the essence of the sport. Without pain, there's no adversity. Without adversity, no challenge. Without challenge, no improvement. No improvement, no sense of accomplishment and no deep-down joy. Might as well be playing Tiddly-Winks." - Scott Martin
"Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." - Bill Nye
"Perhaps the single most important element in mastering the techniques and tactics of racing is experience. But once you have the fundamentals, acquiring the experience is a matter of time." - Greg LeMond
"Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride." - John F. Kennedy
"The world of cycling consists of grit, willpower and fatigue. It is a world of people who love to feel the wind, rain and sweat on their body and love to experience increasingly intense feelings. Only a cyclist can fully understand another cyclist - the pride in the bike is common among those who practice this sport. If you belong to the tribe of cyclists be proud, make yourself seen, recognized and heard." - Northwave advert
"My bikes are my way out of the real world. It is my outlet for stress from family and work. When I'm out on my bikes it's just me and God. - Everything is better on a bike. Doing errands on the bike is an enjoyable day whereas doing same errands by car is frustrating drudgery."
"Disheveled hair, loose-fitting, worn clothes, a strange look of satisfaction on the face, all indices of a Happy Cyclist. Not a care in the world, except a bike chain that needs lubing, the weather report and the right "bike fuel" to get home on. The Happy Cyclist appears as an irresponsible citizen on the one hand, refusing to subscribe to the most basic of modern ideals, such as maintaining a car, wearing the latest fashions and even eating at Burger King or something. Indeed, it seems as if by accident the Happy Cyclist has rejected so many sacred cows that blasphemy would be too light an accusation to make against the offender. Yet the Happy Cyclist appears unconcerned, still wearing that most puzzling of human expressions: the smile. Pete Clark - bikeforums.net
