Helmets are essential for both experienced and inexperienced bicycle riders, for those who ride on city roads and those who bike off-road.

If you’re just beginning, don’t push yourself too much. Start with shorter rides and build up to the longer ones slowly over the course of several weeks.

Bicycles line the streets of Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, with riders concentrating on serious exercise, recreation, and cheap, environmentally sound transportation. For most American adults, however, a bicycle is nothing more than a childhood relic. With gas prices climbing and Americans becoming increasingly overweight and out of shape, now might be the time to follow the European example.

Bicycling offers efficient, low-impact exercise. If you’ve given up jogging because you can’t take the stress on your knees, biking is the perfect alternative. Intensive bicycle workouts can be just as effective as running, without the knee pain.

Regular biking of any kind will make you more fit, even if you’re just riding to and from work. Just half an hour a day on a bike can cut your risk of heart disease in half. It can also lower blood pressure and reduce your risk of developing adult-onset diabetes.

A bicycle will get you to work and back inexpensively. And a biking excursion in the country will be good fun for the kids and improve your level of fitness.

If you really want to lose weight or get fit cycling, you’re going to have to sweat. Biking at 15 miles per hour will burn calories at a rate of approximately 650 an hour. To lose a pound a week, you should bike four times a week. That may mean three workouts of 30 to 60 minutes each and one workout of one to two hours.

If you’re just beginning, don’t push yourself too much. Start with shorter rides and build up to the longer ones slowly, increasing your cardiovascular ability over the course of several weeks. Remember to warm up and cool down by cycling slowly for about 10 minutes on either end of your workout.

If you’re a more experienced biker in training for a race, you can improve your performance by including an intervals workout once a week. In each interval of cycling, you should work at 80 to 90 percent of your lung capacity for 30 to 60 seconds at a time. Following each interval, allow an equal amount of time for rest.

To get the most out of your cycling workouts, perfect your technique. When pedaling, beginners tend to concentrate simply on the downward motion, allowing momentum to complete the swing. Instead, learn to pedal the full circle. Concentrate on your movements when your feet are at the top and bottom of the swing. As one foot approaches the top of the swing, think of pushing it forward while propelling the foot approaching the bottom of the swing towards the back.

Remember your lessons about driving in snow: brake before you turn to avoid losing control. Also, if you’re taking a sharp turn, stop pedaling when your inside foot reaches the top of the swing so that the pedal doesn’t hit the ground.

When approaching a hill, upshift several notches before you get there. Stand up and rock the bike back and forth as you pedal rather than simply moving up and down. This motion will force your shoulder and chest muscles into action, taking the pressure off your legs.

Choosing a Bike

If you’re just beginning, don’t push yourself too much. Start with shorter rides and build up to the longer ones slowly over the course of several weeks.

If you’re in the market for a bike, there are three basic models to choose from: mountain bikes, road bikes and hybrids. These days, most people opt for mountain bikes or hybrids. Both of these models work well for beginners.

Road bikes, designed for long rides and speed on pavement, have thin tires and a light frame. Mountain bikes have thick tires designed to handle all kinds of terrain. Hybrids are a little bit of both. Although their tires are thinner than those of mountain bikes, hybrids can still handle some types of off-road terrain while maintaining a good tread for riding on the road (albeit slower than road bikes).

If you don’t have the right size bike or if it isn’t properly adjusted, you will be much more vulnerable to pain and injury.

To test the basic size of a bike, straddle it with your feet flat on the floor. From this position, you should have three to six inches of space between your crotch and the bar of the bike if you’re buying a mountain bike (only one to two inches of space are necessary for road bikes or hybrids).

When sitting on the seat, your leg should be fully extended at the bottom of the pedaling swing when your heel is on the pedal. When the ball of your foot is on the pedal, your knee should remain somewhat bent.

Have a salesperson help you find the right distance between the handlebars and the seat. When leaning over with your hands on the brakes, you should feel comfortable and relaxed. This is a position you will have to maintain for an extended period of time, so don’t leave with a bike that forces you to reach too hard for the handlebars.

Biking Safely

Although bicycling reduces the risk of high-impact injuries, it is often associated with more serious, life-threatening accidents. Every parent knows not to let a child get on a bicycle without a helmet, but not all adults follow their own advice.

In a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University concerning alcohol impairment and cycling, only 17 percent of the non-intoxicated subjects involved in accidents were wearing helmets. Helmets drastically reduce the risk of serious head injury resulting from accidents. They are essential for both experienced and inexperienced riders, those who ride off-road and on city streets.

Braving busy traffic on your bicycle can be daunting and dangerous. The key to staying safe is to remain alert and to follow all traffic laws that apply to cars. Do not wear headphones or you may miss important signals.

Use your arms to indicate when you plan to turn. To indicate a right turn, extend your right arm out straight. For a left turn, extend your right arm, bent at the elbow, with your hand pointing upward. To indicate a stop, your arm should be bent with the hand pointing downward.

If you have company, ride in single file along the right side of the road. If there is a bus lane, ride on the left. Pay special attention to people getting out of parked cars. Collisions with open doors are common. Ride far enough from parked cars to avoid the doors and slowly enough to react in time to avoid a collision.

Always make eye contact before you make a move, whether with drivers or pedestrians. If they haven’t seen you, they won’t know to avoid you.

Apart from accident-related injuries, bicycling has also been linked to sexual dysfunction. In a recent study involving amateur long-distance cyclists in Germany, 60 percent of men who cycled for 100 to 150 kilometers a week reported genital numbness. This figure climbed to 70 percent among those who cycled 100 to 250 kilometers a week. About 13.1 percent of cyclists (as opposed to 3.9 percent of similarly trained swimmers) reported erectile dysfunction.

Like all forms of exercise, bicycling comes with the risk of injury, especially among those who train heavily. Cycling does, however, offer an efficient means of burning calories and an environmentally sound form of transportation. Whether at home or on vacation, there’s no better or more healthy way to see the countryside than on a bike.

REFERENCES:
Owen Anderson, “Beauty of the Bike,” Runner's World, December, 1998.
Mike Bykowski, “Long-Distance Cycling Linked to Risk of Erectile Dysfunction,” Family Practice News, July 15, 1999.
Carlos Dora, “A Different Route to Health: Implications of Transport Policies,” British Medical Journal, June 19, 1999.
Richard Evans et al, “Cycling and Health (Letter to the Editor,” British Medical Journal, August 5, 2000.
“Fun Bikes for Weekend Riders,” Prevention, June, 1997.
Timothy I. Mueller, “Alcohol a Significant Factor in Bicycle Fatalities, Study Finds,” The Brown University Digest of Addiction Theory and Application, June 1997.
Justin Mullins, “Hard-Headed Choice,” New Scientist, July 22, 2000.
Rod Rodriguez, “Measuring the Danger of Impotence from Bicycling,” Impotence & Male Health Weekly Plus, June 14, 1999.
Allen St. John, “Ride Like a Pro,” Women's Sports and Fitness, March 1999.
Duane Swierczynski, “Spin City,” Women's Sports and Fitness, March 2000.