OT: dont_fear_riding_a_bicycle_fear_sitting_in_that_chair

http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entr ... that_chair

Mid 2005 I fell from my bicycle on a sunny windless day. I still do not know why but two things are suspect:

1. I was coming to the end of usefulness of a Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor (SSRI – an antidepressant pharmaceutical splint). They then changed out to a different SSRI and three years later I found myself falling from time to time.
2. Back then I was not using the feedback from my nightly CPAP data. After a few days in a row of work I would guess that my CPAP therapy was not doing so well. Under treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) may have been a factor in the fall.

The results of the fall were six weeks of agony as my six pack tendons healed and a decision to not drive since I could not guarantee vigilance as the incident indicated. At that time I also stopped using a bicycle.

I now watch my therapy closely and no longer use any kind of antidepressant pharmaceutical splint. I have resumed bicycle use and will consider getting my drivers license again if there are no major incidents for six months.

I really love riding and the more I move the better I feel.

May we all find a good active lifestyle!

Todzo

I really love riding and the more I move the better I feel.

Good for you Todzo!

Me too. Every chance I get. I rode yesterday and today. Might ride tomorrow.

I rode all winter. Coldest morning was 37F with a breeze and this old man was out on the road in bicycle shorts and lightweight top. Very nice.

Much better than SSRIs:

Amen. And I REALLY need to follow your advise. I once rode frequently. That was before I was tired all the time and got fatter.

I need a boost to get started again.

Greg

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird; It's a plane; It's Carbonman!

Don't understand? You should shortly.

I used to ride all the time when i was 17 and under all the time... I unfortunately stopped when I got a car. Go figure.

I got a Schwinn Woodland in a trade from a friend probably 10 or so years ago.. bought a new seat handle grips.. etc.. and never really rode it much. It ended up sitting in my moms shed for the better part of 10 years. She recently told me to come get it as she wanted the room.

I very recently started riding it. Makes me feel like I'm 15 again except I'm not in as good a shape as I was then. My wife got a bicycle so we can ride together, and I've gotten a bike rack for my car. Hopefully I stay with this hobby this time. I'm considering getting a road bike in addition to my mountain bike, if I stay with it for a few months.

Here's a pic of it.



I agree, get out and do something.. This is something I can do when it's to much trouble to load up our kayaks...

Oh, and Sheffey, I might need to steal that pill bottle for an avatar

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. ~ Albert Einstein
I thought of that while riding my bicycle. ~ Einstein, in reference to the Theory of Relativity

It's different for every individual, but the most important thing for me is being able to ride right out of my garage. Getting in the car to take the bike somewhere to ride is a huge stumbling block - you won't ride much.

I can hop on the bike and ride to town or ride out in the countryside by estates and farms and over two rivers in the area - some nice challenges up from the rivers to the ridges and fast rides down.

No need for an expensive bike. I bought a flat bar road bike new for about $500.

If I am riding an hour or less, I just put on some thin nylon running shorts. The chamois bicycle shorts only come out for longer rides. I bought hi-viz tech tops cheap at a discount store - no expensive bicycle jerseys!

Keep it simple and cheap. I use toe clips and a pair of old lightweight running shoes - no expensive pedals and expensive cycling shoes.

A water bottle and a cell phone in a little under-seat bag. I don't carry a tool kit, pump and spare tube. On the rare occasion that I would have a flat or other breakdown, that is what the cell phone and friends are for. Come get me! In the worse case I would call a taxi - cheaper than pump, tool kit and bag.

I did buy a nice floor pump with gauge. Tires need to be topped off every week - biggest cause of flats is pinching from underinflated tires.

Let's ride!

Nooblakahn,

We have a white Civic LX sedan 2001. It was my mother's car before the nursing home. We took it with the intention of selling it, but we just can't let it go. My wife and I both love the Civic.

T. Sheffey

Nothing changes your mind like a bike ride.



I'll see you on the road.

"Like" Carbonman!

Sheffey wrote:Nooblakahn,

We have a white Civic LX sedan 2001. It was my mother's car before the nursing home. We took it with the intention of selling it, but we just can't let it go. My wife and I both love the Civic.

T. Sheffey

I bought mine about 5 years ago. Had 183,000 miles on it. It now has 228,000 or more and still runs good. I got it cause I wanted something more fuel efficient than my dodge Dakota... boy did I won there...

I would sell mine and get another civic... but they are hard to find the years I want in a 5 speed. They are all automatics...

Great little car... I got way more than my 3400 or 3600 bucks out of it...

Sheffey wrote:It's different for every individual, but the most important thing for me is being able to ride right out of my garage. Getting in the car to take the bike somewhere to ride is a huge stumbling block - you won't ride much.

I can hop on the bike and ride to town or ride out in the countryside by estates and farms and over two rivers in the area - some nice challenges up from the rivers to the ridges and fast rides down.

No need for an expensive bike. I bought a flat bar road bike new for about $500.

If I am riding an hour or less, I just put on some thin nylon running shorts. The chamois bicycle shorts only come out for longer rides. I bought hi-viz tech tops cheap at a discount store - no expensive bicycle jerseys!

Keep it simple and cheap. I use toe clips and a pair of old lightweight running shoes - no expensive pedals and expensive cycling shoes.

A water bottle and a cell phone in a little under-seat bag. I don't carry a tool kit, pump and spare tube. On the rare occasion that I would have a flat or other breakdown, that is what the cell phone and friends are for. Come get me! In the worse case I would call a taxi - cheaper than pump, tool kit and bag.

I did buy a nice floor pump with gauge. Tires need to be topped off every week - biggest cause of flats is pinching from underinflated tires.

Let's ride!

I just want to second every word of this! I realize that not everyone has the luxury of being able to start their rides from home, but the more you can avoid needing a car to carry the bike to a starting point the better. The bike quickly becomes part of the pattern of everyday life instead of a piece of athletic equipment you get out for special occasions like you would golf clubs or skis. Even a ten minute ride to the hardware store is ten minutes better spent than in a car. I live in Chicago, practically in the Loop, so every ride starts on busy streets. But you get used to this far faster than most people think they will, and traffic thins or trails begin within a few miles almost everywhere.

Toe clips are a great idea. Fancy pedal systems provide the most efficient coupling of foot to bike, and I understand why serious recreational riders use them, but simple toe clips provide 80 percent of the benefit and can be used casually in street shoes on errands with no preparation. A good floor pump is essential, inexpensive and far less trouble than anything electric. Sheffey is right about pinch flats.

I'm a nut about good lighting, but not everyone rides at night. There has been a revolution in headlights in the last five years. Small lights that recharge from a USB port throw more light than $500 systems that required a heavy battery used to do.

I get what you all are saying about being in the car, however, its nice to rode somewhere that's to far to reach by bike. I live in the middle of nowhere and have limited options from my door. One way on a country road.. or the other. Doable. But not always the most scenic. Its nice to be able to stick mine and my wifes bikes on that trunk rack and go. Two times loading that and you have it down. It can be installed and loaded in 10 mins.

Just always nice to have that option on the weekends.

Todzo wrote:Mid 2005 I fell from my bicycle on a sunny windless day. I still do not know why but two things are suspect:

Hi,

I started riding bicycle last May. Towards the end of July, I went down on a bike path going about 25 miles per hour. I also am not 100% sure what happened. The world kind of went into a brown out, and I woke back up falling down. I got banged up kind of badly, got my first ride in an ambulance, and my first visit as a patient to a trauma center. The only long term damage was a broken tooth, so now, at age 50, I get to have braces.

This did scare me a bit. I might make some changes on how and where I ride, but it isn't going to stop me.

-john-