Tag Archives: cycling

iCan Bike Lets Kids With Different Abilities Grab Life by the Handlebars

When the iCan Bike program rolled into the Wichita Ice Center last month, 40 youth with varying disabilities grabbed life by the handlebars. The week-long camp is designed to teach cycling to children with developmental disabilities to ride a bike. For many, riding a bike is entrenched as a youthful rite of passage, an expected childhood development filed in between learning to read and losing baby teeth. But even with all the worthwhile services provided to people with different abilities, the teaching of the most essential recreational activity was being overlooked. Learning to bike is a portal. It’s the intersection of sport and independence, it’s in the doorway of competition and confidence.

icanbike wichita 1

iCan Bike is under the larger iCan Shine umbrella, a national organization that “provides quality learning opportunities” for a host of recreational activities. iCan Shine sent two staffers, Donovan Bryan and John Reyes, and their custom designed bikes and equipment for the Wichita camp, hosted by the Independent Living Resource Center. (more…)

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Patrick

13 Hot New Workouts to Try This Summer

Summer is not boring – fact. Some of your workouts are getting pretty tired – fact. There’s nothing you can do about it – false.

The summer season officially starts on June 20, also known as the summer equinox. There’s never been a better time than right now to shake up your workout routine. We challenge you to try a new workout every week of summer. By fall, you’ll have found a few new things you really love and those are sure to carry you through the winter workout doldrums. Summer is all about adventure, and your workout routine deserves a little vacation too, don’t you think?

Here are 13 fresh workout ideas that will have you fitter by Labor Day!

orangetheory

Orangetheory Fitness

They call it the “best one-hour workout in the country,” and with studio locations across the country you’ve got plenty of opportunity to see for yourself. It’s interval training and strength training combined for a results-focused workout. You’ll spend 60 minutes in a group session doing treadmill intervals, indoor rowing, and weight training. Don’t have a location near you? See if they have an Orangetheory studio at your vacation destination! OrangetheoryFitness.com

beyond barre

Beyond Barre

It’s not ballet, but it uses a lot of the dance style’s principals to push you through a cardio-focused full body workout. Created by Colleen Ketchum, the 55-minute session will work your legs for a leaner look, abs for a flatter tummy, heart with GlideBoard simulated ice skating, and free weights for stronger muscle tone. Colleen’s flagship studio is in Warwick, New York with a growing number of studio locations around the country. BeyondBarre.com (more…)

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Natalie K

Wally Bishop Lost Over 200 Pounds When He Said NO to Yo-Yo Dieting

This Sunday, if Wally Bishop goes out to dinner with his three children to celebrate Father’s Day, he won’t be nervous about whether the restaurant will have adequate seating for him, something he used to worry about on a regular basis. After losing over 200 pounds, Wally can just sit back and enjoy the time with his family. He might even save room for dessert.

Wally Bishop TWLS 1

If you live in South Carolina you’ve probably passed Wally and his lovely wife on their bikes as they peddle around town. Wally describes himself as an avid cyclist but says there was a time when even walking down the block was a challenge. Like many people, Wally was healthy and active until he graduated high school but then slowly the stress of his job and life in general, coupled with poor diet choices and not enough activity caused the pounds to slowly creep on. To make matters worse, whenever Wally would try to diet, he ended up gaining back more weight than he lost. He wanted to change but yo-yo dieting was sabotaging his efforts. Finally, he came to the conclusion that focusing on the scale was actually part of his problem. That’s when he switched gears.

(more…)

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Dani Stone

Conservatives Found Another Thing to Hate – Bike Shares

New York has everything, right? That’s pretty much true, including progressive thinkers who want to see a healthier population and a cleaner planet. One of the many ways New Yorkers are trying to accomplish these goals is through bike sharing, specifically through a company called Citi Bikes. The business is simple and really a no-brainer in a busy city that requires commuting. A new report suggests that conservatives are making it really tough to do the healthy thing in NYC, though.

cycling benefits

 Citi Bikes is super simple, with a minimal three step process:

1. Unlock a bike from any station by paying for the rental.

2. Ride the bike wherever you want.

3. Return the bike to any station when you’re done.

Riders don’t have to invest in a bike, they don’t have to search for a place to lock up a bike, and they don’t have to store a bike in a notoriously small New York apartment. They also get exercise and do not leave a carbon footprint behind. When I see these units set up in other cities, my first response is, “wish we had these.”

While this simple plan could literally reverse so many of our country’s health problems, some groups have found a way to deter such a great program. Mayor Bloomberg has already caught flak for trying to reduce soda sizes in his city, and apparently the complaints don’t stop when Americans feel they might be pressured into riding a bike instead of sitting in an expensive, fume-emitting cab. (more…)

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Lacy

Mari Ruddy’s Red Riders Aim to Raise $4.5 Million for Diabetes in 2024

Last year I participated in the Saratoga Springs Tour de Cure, an annual bike ride that is held nationwide to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. One of the most inspiring things about the Tour are the Red Riders, individuals who live and ride with diabetes. To better explain what the Red Rider program is and about her own aspirations, I had the pleasure of interviewing the founder of the Red Rider program, Mari Ruddy!

She runs the daily business and management of TeamWILD, a program that teaches adults how to live with diabetes through exercise. She also coaches and speaks at ADA Tour de Cure rides. Mari’s working on a book that will no doubt highlight the success of the Red Riders, the health battles she’s personally fought and won, and offer guidance and insight for diabetics to truly live.

Tell me about the Red Rider program.

I’m the founder of the Red Riders, who are cyclists with diabetes. I also started the first Team Red. Now all 90 Tour de Cure rides have Red Riders and a Team Red. The first year there were 111 Red Riders. This summer, 2024, there will be [more than] 7,000 Red Riders in the US. In 2024, all the Red Riders together raised $3.9 million. The goal in 2024 is [for] the Red Riders [to] collectively raise $4.5 million. The Tour itself raised more than $26 million in 2024. These numbers are very exciting.

How much money does “your” Tour raise?

My “home” Tour for the past seven years was the one in Colorado. Now that I’ve moved back to my home state, I consider the Tour de Cure Twin Cities in Minnesota my home ride! We intend to raise $1 million this year at the Minnesota Tour. (more…)

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Sarah

Roy and Lynn Roden Prepare to Cycle 4,500 Miles Cross-Country for Parkinson’s Disease Awareness

In one month I am leaving on a cross-country journey from Seattle to Miami – via bicycle – with my husband and my two dogs, Oliver and Samantha. I am 40-years old and a recent empty nester. My name is Lynn Roden. This is my story.

Ten years ago I was a successful web designer/graphic artist and although I loved my job, I woke up one day to discover I was not the size I remembered. How come my size 6 pants were now starting to feel tight? Some may say “Only a size 6!” but you have to take into consideration that I was thin my whole life leaning between a size 0 and a size 2 – going up to a size 8 would have been the equivalent of going from a size 6 to a size 14 to me, a big difference.

I started with a personal trainer at Olympia Gym in Aventura, FL. working out two times a week. I started watching my nutrition and added cardio into my workout routine. Two days a week gradually became three. I loved this new more confident, stronger me and decided to become a personal trainer myself.

At the gym there was a front desk manager who took his job very seriously. It seemed that every time I came in this man would come out of nowhere to make sure I had signed in. It became a game and I would start coming in just to buy a bottle of water at the juice bar just to defy the need for me to sign in upon entering Olympia. He had a Harley Davidson motorcycle and I had been wanting to ride. One day my trainer hooked us up, we went to lunch, and were married six months later.

On our first year anniversary my husband, Roy, was diagnosed with YOPD – Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease. I entered my first triathlon. Somehow becoming stronger physically was akin to being strong emotionally. In addition, my two teenage daughters were grown and independent enough to want to leave home. I found myself 40, an empty-nester, and with a new husband with a degenerative neurological disease. (more…)

Posted on October 4, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Lance Armstrong Stripped of Titles and Banned from Cycling, Fans Lament

“Lance Armstrong is banned from cycling for life. If you see him on a bike, please knock him off and then shout, ‘NO!’ right in his face.”   

This is just one sentiment shared by Twitter user @johnmoe and sure to be echoed by many, in response to the news that Lance Armstrong has surrendered his seven Tour de France titles by opting not to fight allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his decorated cycling career.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Chief Executive Travis Tygart announced Thursday that he was still waiting to hear Armstrong’s formal response to the charges, but that his decision not to proceed would leave Armstrong to face a lifetime competition ban and be stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles won between 1999 and 2005, as well as his 2000 Olympic bronze medal.

Armstrong, 40, announced that he was giving up his years-long fight against the USADA in an official statement emailed to various news sources, though he never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during his career.

“Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart’s unconstitutional witch hunt,” he said. “…If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting…I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair.”

Armstrong continued, arguing the charges were backed by “zero physical evidence” and were completely “outlandish and heinous” in nature. But despite his will to continue fighting the USADA, he’s finally given up. (more…)

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Dana

Saturday Morning Drills: Olympic-Style Cycling

We’re now well into the Olympic Games and the excitement has officially set in. Watching American athletes compete so passionately inspires us to want to get out there and hit the pavement, dunk the ball, and stick that landing, too. And today? We want to get down and dirty on the road, cycling style.

To really channel our inner cyclists, we’ve summoned the help of the American Council on Exercise (ACE) for a seriously intense interval workout that you can do at home on a stationary bike, or on the road with a road or mountain bike.

Developed by ACE’s director of professional education, Anthony Wall, this roughly 1-hour workout is sure to blast calories and get your heart rate up quick with a series of challenging intervals.

One hour of cycling can burn between 400-700 calories. But if you don’t have a full hour to devote, simply scale back and shorten your interval times or the length of your warm-up and cool-down.

To measure your level of exertion during the workout, determine your rate of perceived effort of RPE before starting by using a simple 1-5 scale – one being easy and five being difficult. Once you have that scale in mind, it’s time to get started. (more…)

Posted on August 4, 2023 by Dana

Yoga Helps Bicyclists Get a Leg Up on Speed and Recovery

Super active quadriceps, strong hamstrings and monster gluteal muscles are what propel a road bike across pavement. Just take a look at the lower bodies of famed cyclists such as Lance Armstrong or Cadel Evans and you will see some serious power pent up in their legs. In professional racers, the contractibility of muscle fibers is beyond efficient, and the speed at which they fly up steep grades is unimaginable.

While we may not boast the title of ‘Tour de France winner,’ we can still enjoy trying our best in a local bike race or just having fun while riding along our neighborhood bike path. Either way, nursing our well-used legs is of great importance. Post ride or race, ice and massage are crucial for speed of recovery, and so is yoga.

The following yoga poses are superbly beneficial to anyone who enjoys spending time in the saddle, i.e. the bicycle seat.

Runner’s Lunge

You might as well call this ‘cyclist’s lunge,’ as it is helpful for runners and riders alike. With the front knee directly over the ankle and the back leg stretched as far back as possible (toes on the ground) the psoas muscle receives a lovely stretch for restoration of length and suppleness. In cycling, the psoas muscle is responsible for bringing the knee forward at the top of the pedal stroke, as well as keeping the pelvis stable while pedaling. (more…)

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Jill

Fit in 5: Top 5 Fat Burning Exercises

By Pamela Hernandez

When we say weight loss what we really mean is fat loss. We want to workout and eat, in most cases, to get lean and carve lovely muscular curves. Many try to slog it out on the treadmill or elliptical trainer for hours on end to burn fat. I believe there are much more efficient, and entertaining, ways to burn calories and create a lean physique.

Ready to break out of your cardio machine routine? Try one of my favorite (and highly effective) fat burning workouts.

Squats: Weight training will always top my list of fat burners. Your resting metabolism can stay elevated for up to 48 hours after strength training, meaning more calories burned while you sleep or sit at your desk. Squats are at the top of my list because they use all of the big muscles of the legs and there are endless variations to keep you from getting bored. My favorite is the overhead squat, engaging muscles from top to bottom.

Boxing: I have no desire to hit someone but when I want to work up a sweat I love hitting the bag or putting on my Tae-Bo video. Your core and legs (remember big muscles burn more calories) provide power to your punches while increasing your heart rate more quickly than the treadmill. If you really want to sculpt tank top ready shoulders and arms, trying shadow boxing with weighted gloves or light dumbbells in hand. (more…)

Posted on April 30, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Train to Cycle 100 Miles in a Day with Bicycling Magazine

 

Stop by your newsstand and grab the October issue of Bicycling Magazine and to learn how to train smarter and be on your way to completing a century ride, or 100 miles in the same day. It’s like a marathon for cyclists!

In each issue you’ll receive the information that dedicated or beginner cyclists need to know. In October, that includes how to avoid a crash, a timely piece for riding on windy days, and how beer might just make you faster. Plus, there’s a bike that’s trying to save the world. The question is, are you a cyslist trying to do the same?

Get your copy of Bicycling at your newsstand, or subscribe to Bicycling Magazine and never miss an issue.

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Health Buzz