Thanks Bob. I hang out at KICKBIKE -- "a kickbikers journey" which is becoming a melange of sorts as I'm researching the whole bicycle culture thing as part of some local advocacy.
It strikes me that theres' a lot of confusion about bikes per se because there can be many functional applications for them and when you get into kickbiking -- and I AM smitten! -- you begin to appreciate the pure simplicity of two wheels moving in a forward direction driven by sweat.
The new vogue for set gear/single speed bikes and the new appreciation of old style utility bicycles ( between war design)dovetails delightfully with a kickbike approach to transit. Maybe you aint going to push your kickbike to work through traffic while wearing a suit or your Sunday best but if you want to bike it make sure to approach some of the core aptitudes that the Kickbike offers.
My kickbike straddles a few transit genres -- jogging, shopping, commuting and cartage -- and the more you 'push it' the more into the groove you become as you learn a lot more about what the hardware can offer you.
Among a few other aspects it is taking me to another level of fitness despite my chronic arthritic condition. I'm jogging but not weight bearing as if I was jogging per the norm. (And I can always get off and walk!)
Bikes are not as strenuous as people assume they are. That may be a good thing but as exercise machines you have to work very hard on the peddles over some distance to register the physiological gains you can achieve by kicking a kickbike.
Thats' why I think single speed bicycles are a well worth sponsoring back into the mainstream as we are part of the same biking niche.
PS: I'm going to build a ultility bike from scratch for my partner's birthday so we can ride together and she won't be able to peddle away from me so easily if impulse comes upon her.
Showing posts with label Utility Bicycles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Utility Bicycles. Show all posts
24 March, 2008
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