Bike Your Way to a Healthy Lifestyle

Keeping a healthy lifestyle nowadays is a challenge especially in this modern, fast-paced world. That's why many are looking for a hobby or sport that can help maintain their good health and body condition.

Mountain biking is one way to not only maintain a healthy body, but also divert oneself from a daily home-to-work, work-to-home routine. It requires the use of a mountain bike, with features designed specially for strong durability and performance in rough roads.

Biking has many categories: (1) cross country (2) trail riding (3) downhill (4) freeride (5) street riding (6) dirt jumping (7) trials.

The most common discipline in mountain biking is cross country. This type of cycling is defined by its course of terrain in the entire race. It consists of rough forest paths, smooth fireroads, and paved paths connected to other trails. In 1996, it became an Olympic sport and is currently the only form of mountain biking included at the Summer Olympics.

Trail riding, as opposed to riding in an enclosed arena, is characterized by riding on natural trails and roads. Trail rides may be considered as informal activities, but the sport can also be an official event for some organizations and clubs.

The third type is a time-trial mountain biking event, the downhill biking. As the name implies, it usually takes place on steep, downhill terrain with obstacles strategically placed throughout the course.

Meanwhile, recognized as one of the most popular types of mountain biking is the freeride. Combining different aspects of the sport like downhill and dirtjumping, its concept is to make it down the trail with a creative style, amplitude, control and speed, but with no set course, goals or rules to abide by.

Somehow similar to freeriding is street riding, which also involves creativity in handling maneuvers and obstacles. These obstacles can be in a form of stairs, handrails, ledges, curved walls, and even gutters and simple curbs.

Dirt jumping is a practice of riding bikes over the “take off” and the rider is momentarily suspended in mid-air, aiming to land at a targeted area.

Lastly, trials riding is an overall test of bicycle skills with both natural and man-made obstacles.

Mountain biking can be done almost anywhere—from streets to forests, and naturally mountains. Professional bikers usually go to off-road trails because of the challenge and sense of adventure.

Every rider must be self-reliant all the time—from repairing their broken bikes and even pumping flat tires. Most of them develop survival skills especially when emergency arises while they are miles away from any help. However, if one decides to be a professional biker, there are lots of things to learn, from knowing which brake to use to manuevering obstacles along the course. He needs experience and training to be at par with the professionals.

For those who want to take biking as a recreational activity or hobby, the sport is relatively easy enough. For starters, one must learn how to ride an ordinary bike first. After that, the bigger challenge is to learn riding a mountain bike.

Practice and experience are not enough to make one a skilled biker. There are those who have been riding for years without impoving their skills and techniques. So here are some tips for the biking beginners:

1. It is important to familiarize oneself with the pedals of his bike. A biker can clip or attach his shoes in pedals for a more secured biking. One must practice clipping and releasing his shoes from the pedals until he gets the hang of it.

2. Keep in mind the right body position when pedaling. A biker's legs should be 70 to 90 percent extended at the bottom of each pedal stroke to achieve a appropriate seat height. His arms and legs should be slightly bent—there should never be a position where they are locked straight.

3. Without actually sitting on the bike, a biker can try coasting along while standing on the pedals. Shift body position once in a while towards the rear end of the bike.

4. Practice pedaling while standing on the bike. This will make a biker's endurance much stronger.

5. Find a curb and practice getting on the upper portion of it. Using moderate speed, stand and go right off the curb from the upper to the lower level. This can help a biker learn how to manuever a bike.

Sources:
www.pinoymtbiker.org/
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/