Yikes! Bikes! The New Way to Put Your Pedal to the Metal

Around election time, even some of the more politically apathetic of us can became a bit self-righteous about the environment. Then winter rolled around, and we started sitting around at home on the couch stuffing our faces with Pringles over re-runs of The Simpsons and hopping into the car to go down the street to pick up twelve packs. Now that summer is around the corner, however, we’re met with an inconvenient truth: we have been polluting our environment and bodies and now we’re fatso Earth killers. Balls!

Luckily, as the weather improves, so too do our chances of integrating healthy habits into our busy (or not so busy) lives and doing it damn fashionably– with a bike. Bicycles are one of the most prominent new warm weather trends, with benefits ranging from a slimmer physique to a cleaner environment to lower fuel dependency. And even if you don’t really give a hoot about the environment or fuel, surely everyone likes a new toy.

When purchasing a bicycle, one of the first questions you’ll have to ask yourself is what kind of bike you need, a road bike, a mountain bike, or a hybrid. If you’re using the bike on rugged terrains, you’ll definitely need a mountain bike, which has a bit more heft to it. If, however, you need a bike just to get around, a road bike is probably fine. Bicycle chameleon? Hybrid. And then, for the truly co-dependent, there’s always the tandem bicycle for you and your lady.

Mountain bikes range greatly in terms of type. There are bikes for cross country biking, for jumping off of tall rocky things, and bikes for guys that just want to look sporty.

Road bikes vary less in their intended usage, but one of the trendiest bikes of late is the Dutch bike, which is a more upright bike and best for if you will be biking to work in a suit.

For the true couch potatoes, there are also electric bikes. You can charge up the battery, just like your cell phone, and then breeze around on a vehicle less expensive and less bulky than a car. Although these tend to be more expensive than standard bicycles, there are some cost effective options too, like the E-Zip made by Currie Technology.

When biking, there are some apparel considerations to remember, most importantly to wear a helmet. Yes, your hair might get a bit screwed up, Mr. Self Love, but your whole damn skull could get even more screwed up without one, so wrap it up! I personally prefer a skater helmet, which tends to be a bit simpler and sleeker in design.

It will also be vital to wear pants with a bit of stretch and give to them so you don’t end up with crotchless pants. You are, after all, trying to get around, not trying to look like you get around as a male escort. Finally, do not wear white pants on a bicycle, no matter how many magazines say white pants are a summer staple. That bicycle seat will get dirty and you don’t want a big black stain on your butt.

Other than these three factors, you can wear pretty much anything while biking, so get out there, Lance, and ride like there’s no tomorrow!