This is the second in my series on Biking instead of driving, busing, training, etc. See Part 1 first.
Downsides
If you ride the city long enough, you will start to see some problems with biking. Ghost bikes are bikes that are chained up, spray-painted totally white, everything. They mark a place where a cyclist died, and it sobers you quickly. Cyclists do get killed and it is dangerous because cars and big, metal, and we’re not. So there’s some basic safety tips you need to follow, and gear to acquire and use. While I was tempted to do the full body armor, I settled for flashing Frog lights front and rear, a simple bell, a great helmet of course, and a best effort to ride defensively — especially where cars cut through the path. The hardest part was giving up the headphones, but I have to agree it’s probably safer without them.
Rain and cold can be tough, too. My ride along the Hudson was sometimes bitter (I wore inner and outer gloves in the winter) and sometimes drenching (fine as long as it was on the way home). And of course, I always had the option of taking the train instead. Boy did I miss the ride on those days.
Injuries
I have had a few broken bones in my life, though fewer than my activities would seem to suggest. All that windsurfing, rollerblading, snowboarding, mountain biking, etc…and I ended up breaking a wrist in a skate park with my kids. I did have a serious crash on a mountain bike — but that’s another story. The injuries from bike commuting seem to be so far more of a strain/overuse variety, and possibly related to poor fit/geometry of the bike for my body. I am still learning about adjusting the parts that you can to make a better fit, and I try to be conscious of which muscles I’m using and pushing or pulling with. It’s also clear that being older (2nd half of average life expectancy) means you can’t just go throw your body into or at something, eat a big meal, and wake up to do it again.
I think yoga actually helps a lot with this, because of both the strength and flexibility that it builds, but also crucially the body awareness that comes from learning the poses and the technique. A mindfulness of breath, of how to hold the body, lengthen the spine, drop the shoulders…all these can apply while on the bike and I try to consciously choose a good position as I ride.
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