Biking and cycling are incredibly popular physical activities that many people all around the country take part in. Riding a bike is a great way to get in shape, and it’s hugely beneficial for the environment as well. As bike shops can tell you, there’s the right bike out there for everyone – and anyone can take up biking. In fact, biking has become so popular that now more than sixty six million people do it in the United States alone, as of the spring of 2017.
Let’s first take a look at the impact of biking on the environment. Biking has a tremendously positive effect, as it is a form of transportation that does not require the emission of harmful substances into our environment. And for every person riding a bike, that’s one less person in a car. With a total of one billion bicycles all around the world (and one million more manufactured each and every year), that’s a lot of gas that’s saved. To be more specified, over two hundred and thirty eight million gallons of it in just the span of twelve months. So not only does it save the environment to bike, it actually can save you quite a bit of money as well, certainly not something to overlook for the average person living in the United States.
Biking is also incredibly good for your health. Just biking to work everyday, something that can easily be fit into your schedule in the vast majority of cases, has been found to be the equivalent of going to the gym at least five times a week for forty minute or more sessions. And biking is a great cardio exercise, even lowering your risk of developing a cardiorespiratory disease by as much as nearly forty percent – and lowering your chances of passing away at a young age by as much as thirty percent.
Most people learn how to ride a bike during their childhood, as it has been found that the majority of children are ready to begin the process of learning by the time that they reach the age of five. However, this is not the case for every single person, and some people don’t learn how to ride a bike until they have reached their adult years. Learning to ride a bike later in life is certainly not a bad thing, and truly anyone can learn to ride a bike at just about any time in their lives.
However, no matter what type of bike that ride or how you ride it, it is important to take care of your bike and all of its components, from the steel track frame to the single speed chainring. Aside from these components such as the single speed chainring, your tires must also be cared for. After all, what is a bike without its tires? In order to keep your tires in the most optimal condition possible at all times, high pressure road bike tires should be pumped full of air at least once a week. Other types of tires need to be pumped less, but still frequently. For example, hybrid tires will need to be pumped at least once for every two weeks that pass and mountain bike tires can be pumped every two weeks, but you can also get away with only pumping them every three weeks or so.
Sometimes you will also need to replace parts of your bike such as the single speed chainring. Aside from the single speed chainring, other parts in need of replacement might include your tires, single speed chainring bolts, and your break levers. You can even adjust your brakes to that you can extend them more fully, something that is likely to be particularly ideal to those who are on the taller side of things. It is also important that you buy all of the right parts for your bike. A single speed chainring, for instance, is likely not to work for a bike that is not single speed.
Biking is a great past time, and it is a crucial part of many healthy lifestyles in America.