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bike riding as therapy during crisis

Jim Kenney

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Here's a nice video about how riding a bike is good therapy during the current pandemic. I can really relate to this as I've been riding several times per week in Utah since April: https://www.northjersey.com/videos/...erapy-during-coronavirus-pandemic/5241088002/
The fellow in the video is referring to his area of NJ. Even in heavily populated areas hopping on a bike is safe and a great way to pursue fitness during these times of social distancing.

Tell us how/where/why you're enjoying the sport of cycling at this time! It would be fun if folks from around the country checked in on this thread. Bonus points if you include a photo or ten.
 
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scott43

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I've been mountain biking around Toronto...Kelso, Albion hills. Dragging the kids around the bike paths in Toronto and in Niagara region. Road bike down to High Park here in Toronto. Reality is it's actually harder to find time now. Wfh eats up my day.
 

coskigirl

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I credit cycling and my Tour de Friends for my mental health right now. Since shutdown started I’ve visited with over 50 friends from a distance as part of my rides. Last week I saw 17 friends in one relatively short ride including a fellow Pugski member.
 

coskigirl

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Jim Kenney

Jim Kenney

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Random biker photos from my time in the Salt Lake Valley this spring/summer.
bike.jpg
bike glove.jpg
dimple bike pug.jpg
dimple dell creek ford.jpg
dimple dell wasatch view.jpg
jordan river parkway west jordan.jpg
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hvp pink flowers and bike.jpg
jrt thgvg pt clubhouse.jpg
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jtr jim.jpg


And here's one from today, 7/12/20: this is called the Hosta House. It's in a regular residential neighborhood called Olympus Hills, suburb of SLC. Every square inch of his front and back yard is covered with hostas, over 200 types. Most for sale.
hosta house.jpg


Paging @Ron for comments and a few of his beautiful photos from Steamboat, CO.
 
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martyg

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Based on personal experience, riding is only the first step in the process. The purchase of a new bike is the second step. I may purchase a second and third bike to see if the results scale with each new purchase.
 
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RobSN

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I may purchase a second and third bike to see if the results scale with each new purchase.
They do, all the way up to n-1, where n is the number of bikes that would cause your partner to leave you. Calculating and judging n requires years of experience and experimentation.
 

wooglin

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Was just thinking about this. Haven’t touched my road or gravel bikes this year. Just not settled enough to spin. The MTB, on the other hand, is getting quite a bit of saddle time. Seems to feel much more in the moment.
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scott43

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I'm rebuilding an MTB for a neighbour. Not a bad bike but 20 years old. Built a new rear wheel up, another$150 in parts and he'll be good to go.
 

Phelmut

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Wow. Incredible views and trails out there. I have been road cycling for a few months to stay sane, but driving through cities, so nothing exciting. Traffic was light and much safer until about 3-4 weeks ago and now people are going back to work and it is getting more crowded. I've been looking to upgrade my old Trek hybrids to do more riding on canal paths/railroad trails, but stores are sold out. I really wanted to buy a used bike anyway, but Craigslist and FB marketplace bikes are selling for 2x cost of new for bikes that are several years old.
 

Uncle-A

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Based on personal experience, riding is only the first step in the process. The purchase of a new bike is the second step. I may purchase a second and third bike to see if the results scale with each new purchase.
I was reading an article that said it is getting difficult to find bikes in stores because of the up tick in bike interest and sales. I don't remember what location it was referring to but it also said that reports of bike theft is also up. Maybe shipments from manufacturers are down due to the shut down.
 

martyg

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They do, all the way up to n-1, where n is the number of bikes that would cause your partner to leave you. Calculating and judging n requires years of experience and experimentation.

"n" is infinite for me. Great life partner, and prudent life decisions.
 

martyg

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I was reading an article that said it is getting difficult to find bikes in stores because of the up tick in bike interest and sales. I don't remember what location it was referring to but it also said that reports of bike theft is also up. Maybe shipments from manufacturers are down due to the shut down.

Supply chain is seriously screwed up. That being said if you are in the industry bikes can be had. New models are coming in over the next few months, after a few month's delay.

Howard Grotts WC Epic is also being auctioned off. I'll be watching that one. He's about my size, but might be riding a size smaller.
 

Ski&ride

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I’ve always been cycling long before this. Nothing to do with crisis therapy!

Started as a teenager and never stopped. The ride got longer as I got older. The bike got fancier too. I’m not ashamed to call myself a cycle-aholic!

I never ask why? Just ride. It makes me happy when I ride.

The same way I ski. Never asked why.

I never ask why I eat and sleep. I never ask why I bike or ski. Or do anything for that matter. Too much thinking. Just live.
 

Ski&ride

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I was reading an article that said it is getting difficult to find bikes in stores because of the up tick in bike interest and sales. I don't remember what location it was referring to but it also said that reports of bike theft is also up. Maybe shipments from manufacturers are down due to the shut down.
Very simple.

90% of bikes are made in China. They shut down their economy a few months back. We keep selling what was already in the warehouse. Now the warehouse is empty but the new bikes hasn’t arrived yet. For that matter, China hasn’t entirely got back to ”normal” yet. So the shortage will continue.

Doesn’t help a lot more people are buying bikes because they don’t want to use public transport. Or just want to ride, since all indoor entertainment is still closed.

(I was down the lake kayaking. I’ve been doing this for many years. Never seen half as many kayaks out on the water! Plus jet skis, water skis, floating matt’s...just all manners of water entertainments)

It’s pretty obvious now there’s no ”sport” to watch, people are enjoying sport by DOING it! It gets them out of the house too. What’s not to like?

P.S.
A while back, there’s thread “See you on the other side“ (of the pandemic). Well, it was supposed to get people to look beyond the difficulty at the moment. But much of the response was pretty downcast, so it died. I for one, think there’re a lot of positive things coming out “on the other side”. More participation of active sport and more outdoor are two of those “silver lining” under our current cloud.
 
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Philpug

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It has been very helpful for me lately. In fact, as soon as the temps here drop to 85*, I am going to head out for a few miles.
 

crgildart

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Does riding this count? It's only slightly faster than an eBike. Tops out about 45 mph. Has off road tires, kinda the mini bike of street legal scooters.

1594602488392.png
 
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Jim Kenney

Jim Kenney

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Does riding this count? It's only slightly faster than an eBike. Tops out about 45 mph. Has off road tires, kinda the mini bike of street legal scooters.

View attachment 106144
Yes, counts!
About five years ago when our four kids ranged in age from about 20-30 my wife and I got all of them to come with us for one last family beach vacation (Chincoteague Island, VA) before everyone grew up :P or spread out around the country and it got much harder to do things as our own nuclear family. On that vacation we all rented scooters for two days. It was one of those things (like skiing) that was so fun and cool that it brought even adult kids back into a family activity and made us all feel young. Nobody got hurt either, even though none of us had experience with scooters before.
 

markojp

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It's been lovely road riding around these parts. As far as urban areas go, Seattle and the surrounding area has pretty good riding with a nice variety of possible rides and terrain. I miss riding with friends and after ride beers, but it is what it is. I'm not in the market and my ride is absolutely fine, but I have completely irrational bike lust for Colnago C64's... not likely at all to ever happen as there's still a good deal of economic uncertainty and a kid with dreams that need supporting, but it's fun to window shop. :)
 

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