Like riding a bike...you NEVER forget

I have a crazy fear of bicycles.

Living in downtown Chicago, biking is a way of life for many people - how they get to work, how they exercise, how they explore., how they send work to and from businesses. And it's great for the body, the environment, traffic...it's a win-win sitch. But having been in two horrific bicycle accidents, including riding my threespeed into a mailbox in sixth grade, knocking myself unconscious (not my proudest moment - I think I was actually calling out, "Look! I can ride with no hands!" at the time I crashed), as well as a much more serious debacle in high schol that landed me in a wheelchair for two months, I now see them as instruments of death. Literally, I could walk two miles faster than I could bike them, with all the starting and stopping that would occur.

I was reminded of my fear - and how much I'm missing because of it - while browsing through a blog http://fitsugar.com/237892 recently at FitSugar which asked community members whether or not they biked. Maybe if enough of you write in with glowingly positive stories, I could be convinced to get back on the horse (especially if it's pink and sparkles in the sunlight!) So tell me - is biking going to be my new summer pasttime? Or should I keep my feet on terra firma and stick with running?

X,
Leslie

Comments

Start biking again immediately! I started seriously biking in college. I lived in Santa Cruz, where no one has a car, so biking was how I got everywhere. Now I bike on the weekend for 1-2 hours at a time. It's almost meditative. I take my bike out to the trail and sit and think while my legs do the work. It's easier on my knees than running. Also, I never do squats at the gym, but I have a lot of muscle definition in my legs thanks to the bike riding.

Also, I've taken a couple of nasty spills from my bike as well. Nothing involving a wheelchair, but I did sprain my wrist and ankle on separate occasions. After my injuries, all I could think was, "I can't wait to get back out there!" I hope you can overcome your fear. :)

RUN RUN RUN! I share your fear of bikes- although I wish I were as fearless as Nikki :-)

Stay off the bike! A cracked sidewalk and broken collarbone later, I still have trouble with that shoulder. Also, lest we forget that bikers just get in the way.

I can't ride a bike. I can go in a straight line but crash the second I try to turn. I wish I could bike because my boyfriend likes to do some leasurely biking but I can't. I just stick to running.

I live by Chicago too! The environment by Lake Shore Drive is great for running and biking. I personally prefer running, but if you like biking too, why not do both and switch it up?

I am all about the bike. For me, the pain is kind of like childbirth - you hate it while you're enduring it but then forget about it after, say...6 months or so. Yesterday I rode in an organized ride for the American Diabetes Assoc. 62.5 miles of steep hills and heavy winds. Not fun. Seriously. But here I am, already looking forward to my club ride on Sunday. Go for it, Leslie. I'll coach you.

Congratulations on that ride, Tami - and for such a good cause! The way you bikers describe the positive effects does make it tempting (like how Nikki calls it almost "meditative")...but like CC, my fellow Chicagoan said, maybe I can mix it up. We'll see - it's gonna take some major bravery on my part!

Maybe you should look into one of those bikes where you basically sitting down on the ground. Might reduce the potential for crashes and/or accidents. Plus I bet the view would interesting from down there :)

Unfortunately, biking is not just a simple exercise where you just get on and go. If the seat and pedals are not properly placed (each individual being different), aches and pains arise from both the back and legs. I sustained a torn ligament and a back strain....from a stationery bike, no less. Running or fast walking is still the best.

love bike riding! but prefer to go with someone...my boyfriend is not a huge fan of it though...I have yet to go for a spin since the snow has melted..I think it may take some convincing, but I am going to try and talk my teenage son into going out with me one of these days.
We moved into this home last year and it is just a few blocks from the river, which is laden with beautiful bike paths..but as a safety concren, I will not go along the river alone as some of the paths are pretty remote.
I had a fear of bikes when my kids were small and we would take them out for bike rides...especially those first few jaunts on the street in traffic...although we avoided high traffic areas, it still put me in panic mode...bike riding with the kids stressed me right out!

i enjoy running, but a torn hamstring back in sep 06 took care of that 4 ever

i enjoy walking but even that is difficult with the hamstring injury

i occasionally get on the treadmill and do at least one hour at 3mph, but it gets boring; do it only if weather is too hot or its raining

biking is my new sport; i love it; i get fun and exercise out of it

i am at the drawing board trying to design a new bike seat for women though; that's the only drawback to biking; that darn bikeseat; it leaves me sore

I hope you can get over your fear! I probably won't because mt fear was started when I was about two and was thrown off a bike and landed on my head so thats one of my first memories. And to all of you who think it's just as easy as jumping on a bike trust me it's not!