Cycle Your Calories Away

I’m SORE! But it’s a good kind of sore. Today I rode my bike to work. I have a cheap Trek Mountain Bike that I bought when I first moved to Los Angeles. (I'm sure the bike was stolen…The person I bought it from seemed shady.) However, a bike is a bike. NOT! Well before I go on and talk about what kind of bike to use for the road, let me tell you how my ride to work was.

First, biking to work is great. Being green is what's in and I get to save some gas (being cheap). So my commute to work is roughly 10 miles, but I had to take some alternative roads so it might have been 15 miles or so. I thought it would be a gentle ride in the morning with the cool crisp air BUT it was pretty hard. The deadly slow inclines to reach my destination were exhausting. I could not tell where the hills were coming from but I could sure feel it. By the time I got to work I was ready to go home and go to bed. As I got off the bike my knees buckled and soreness ran through my hamstrings and quadriceps. I haven’t been that sore in a long time. Although I was hurting, it felt great! A few stretches to the hamstrings, gluts, quads, and calves I was ready to start my day.

Now back to the "a bike is a bike" discussion. A mountain bike is not meant for the road. I can't tell you how many times I got smoked by a dude in spandex on a road bike. While waiting at the stop light, one guy looked at me and laughed. Light turned green and I saw smoke. I was pretty mad. If only I had the right bike, my commute would have been faster and I would have burned the other suckers off the road. A road bike would have been better because it’s lighter and the skinny tires seem a lot smoother. My Trek mountain bike seems more durable for trail riding where speed may not be an issue.

If you’ve been contemplating going green via biking it, check out this web site. It’ll help you get started: http://www.bikeradar.com/

Remember, biking is great exercise. It can help increase leg strength and you can sure burn a whole lot of calories. So find a bike. Whether it’s a mountain bike or a spin bike/stationary bike at your local gym, hitting the road with two tires instead of one is gym etiquette to follow.

Check this website to see how many calories you can burn while riding a bike:
http://www.caree.org/calories.htm