Is 2012 the Year You Rediscover Bicycling?

My first bike - Sears Spyder circa 1970.  Image courtesy of oldroad.com

Think back.


Way back.  Back to a time when the toughest decision you needed to make during any given day was which color popsicle you would eat first.  Life was as simple as hopping on your bike and pedaling from one adventure to the next.


As long as I was back in time for dinner, I could pretty much go wherever my bike would take me.  Down the block to a friend's house.  Over to the neighborhood White Hen Pantry.  Up to the public swimming pool.  Off to playgrounds near and far.


Sometimes the adventure didn't involve any destination in particular.  My bike was simply the vehicle that put my imagination into action.  Sometimes it was a motorcycle.  Other times it was a fighter jet, a horse, a police car, or any other conveyance needed to complete the fantasy.  I didn't require a game console and a big screen TV to simulate an experience - I just utilized my brain and my bike.


It's been over forty years since that first solo trip around the block, yet I remember it as if it were yesterday.

I was on my older brother's Stingray-like bike which was clearly too big for me to ride.  I hovered over the top tube, pedaling sporadically to keep from toppling over.  Each time I attempted to scoot up onto the seat I would lose momentum and the bike would start to wobble.   Rather than risk crashing - which I'm sure I had done dozens of times before I finally attained that right combination of forward motion and side-to-side balance - I continued to stand up on the pedals until I had circumnavigated the entire block.


The five year-old version of me hopped on that bike determined to master an elusive motor skill and returned not merely satisfied with an achievement, but addicted to a new sensation.  I still grin like a five year-old each time I throw a leg over my bike.


Every bike ride is an adventure.


Whether zipping over to the library or exploring a regional rail trail, tooling around the forest preserve or riding 150 miles to raise money for MS research, each outing has the potential to relax your mind while activating your imagination.  Every trip can stimulate your senses while simulating your childhood memories.
Bicycling will help you reclaim your health while you relive your youth.


There is no better time than right now to rediscover bicycling.  You never forget how to ride a bike - it's been scientifically proven, by the way.  Enjoying our unseasonably warm weather and getting back in shape is as easy as riding a bike.


Follow this blog for a series of posts on how you can rediscover bicycling.  From slowly riding yourself back into shape to evaluating that bike hanging in the garage, I'm here to offer advice and encouragement.  I'll provide you with insider's tips for buying accessories and offer reviews of fun and safe places to ride.


Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready to take my bike out on some local sales calls today.  I love an early spring!




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This post originally appeared on Chicago Now / Easy As Riding A Bike.  Reprinted by permission of author (me).  Copyright 2012, Brent Cohrs

This Sunday, Donate Your Fitness to Saving Tiny Hearts

Although American Heart Month has come and gone, it’s never far from the hearts and minds of all the people affected by heart ailments.

While I tend to focus on heart disease and preventing your loved ones from suffering the effects of it, there exists an entire group of loved ones who would gladly suffer more, if only it were possible.  I am talking about the parents and loved ones of infants born with congenital heart defects.

Saving Tiny Hearts Society is a 100% volunteer run, non-profit organization whose goal is to raise “seed money for grossly under-funded, lifesaving grass roots research of congenital heart defects (CHD’s).”

This Sunday, March 11, 2012, they are hosting a fundraiser at Equinox in Highland Park called “Sweat For Tiny Hearts.”  The event “is a multi-activty cardio event including an indoor spin cycle team relay, Cardio-Aerobic Classes, Yoga & more to raise funds for CHD Research.”

This is an interesting concept for a fundraiser.  There’s no need to worry about the weather.  There’s no need to drag that old bike out of the garage and hope that it (and your butt) can make it through the day.  Just tell your friends, grab your gym clothes, and head to Equinox for a few hours of indoor fitness activities.

If you can’t make it, you can always sponsor an athlete or make a direct donation to Saving Tiny Hearts through their website.

Saving Tiny Hearts has a very compelling story – it’s worth a few minutes of your time to visit their site and read about it.  I think any parent will relate to “Haley’s Story” and the range of emotions that come with seeing a tiny one go through so much at such a tender age.

Keep riding – or walking, running, yoga-ing, or whatever-cardio-activity-you-prefer-ing – and be charitable!

This post originally appeared on Chicago Now / Easy As Riding A Bike.  Reposted by permission of author (me).  Copyright 2012