Bike Season is Back

Bike Riding

Yes! It is finally bike time. I can recall some of my fondest memories with friends involving biking, like riding to the beach or late night missions home from a night of mischief. I love biking, its the most efficient way to get around the city. I started biking consistently when I was serving at a restaurant downtown and had to get there 5 days a week from 33rd and Main. I rode this shittiest bike (courtesy of my bf) there and back and I ripped! Because the bike had such bad gears, I used a lot more emphasis on side-side motion which helped out for flattening my belly but in retrospect was probably horrible on my back. Check the bike set-up below to avoid injuries.


For Your Health: 

It’s also an efficient way to burn excess calories, shed body fat, and improve cardiovascular health.. obvs

The motion of bicycling, especially uphill and high intensity cycling, is a great way to develop muscle and burn fat. As the quadriceps and hamstring and small calf muscles of the legs work, they become stronger and more developed. Developing more muscle makes the body look leaner and stronger and also raises the resting metabolic rate (metabolism). The higher your resting metabolic rate, the more calories you burn even at rest!

Bicycling also works to strengthen the core region of the body, the abdominal and back muscles. A strong “core” is essential for good balance and posture, and beneficial for daily activities and athletic endeavors.

Do-It-Yourself:
Our Community Bikes
3283 Main Street

Vancouver, BC V5V 3M5

(604) 879-2453

Our Community Bikes are pretty much an open-to-all style bike shop with all the proper tools and replacement parts (all fairly low quality, recycled but usable, parts but most importantly the shop comes stocked with helpful bike-gurus to guide you on your way. Also you can go in and simply use their space and tools. The place is usually fairly busy and you have to be both extremely patient and assertive with flagging down someone for help. You get bike fixed up pretty quickly compared to taking your bike in to a regular bike shop and, most importantly, you will have figured out how to do it yourself and save $$$ 

Rules of Thumb for biking:

•           Come on, Get Over it - helmets aren't lame, use lights at night, try to use bike paths
•      Don’t drink and bike - a deadly combination
•      Get a damn good lock – Vancouver is notorious for crackhead bike-jackings

Plan out your bike routes using this website:


http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/transport/cycling/


A bit of a lengthy video on proper bike set-up. Very informative about bike fitting and injury prevention. It is so crucial to set your bike up to fit you properly, especially if biking is your main means of transportation.