- Image via Wikipedia
Even if the memories of your childhood have been obscured by the years of distractions that constitute adulthood, a few poignant instances will always remain. That special birthday, that favorite movie, and “most importantly” the first time you learned to ride a bike. Maybe you taught yourself, or maybe one of your parents taught you, but what they say is true: once you learn to ride a bike, you’ll never forget how.
The problem is, as the years go by, less and less people stay on their bikes. A lot of lifestyles call for cars, and some people are just too busy to get on a bike and ride for leisure or for exercise. Nonetheless, that feeling of elation you experience when you realize you’re zipping down the road on two wheels powered entirely by yourself; this feeling will always stay with you, and for some people, it may be calling your name.
Fortunately, cycling isn’t a difficult sport to get in to. There are all types of bicycles for every skill-set, and you can enter into cycling alone, join a cycling club, or just have a bike to ride for fun on the weekends with your friends. You can get hybrid bikes, mountain bikes, cruiser bikes, BMX bikes, touring bikes, cyclocross bikes, and the ever-important road bikes.
The different genres of cycling have their own positives and negatives, so depending on where you are geographically, one type of cycling may be better than another. The genres of cycling that have organized sport associations backing them are road cycling (obviously), track racing, mountain biking, and more recently, cyclocross racing. The latter of these is an up-and-coming mixture of mountain and road biking, and though it has been around since the late 70s, it has becoming increasingly popular the past few years.
No matter what you do with the sport of cycling, you will burn calories, strengthen and lean the muscles on your legs, and most importantly, you’ll feel like a kid again.
