Saturday, May 17, 2008

ZOMG!

I've been thinking about getting a bike. I'm sure that many of us have...this morning I wanted to get a car wash for my poor beleaguered Civic, so I went to fill up at the station that has the car wash...regular was over $4.

But here's the thing - I've been wondering about my weight and bike safety. This is not something that most people who ride probably worry about, but then most people you see out riding around here look like a cross between and alien and an insect trying out for the Tour de France. I will never be those people - it's not in my genes to be (besides, I'd lose that cute ass I have). And I know that certain things are only built for certain weights of people.*

So I typed "weight" and "bike" into google. I, of course, found a lecture about not getting too hung up on the weight of the bike. Yeah, that's not really my concern. Then I typed in "bike riding for fat people" and I found Super Sized Cycles. How absolutely fabulous is that?

The drawback? I'm guessing, when I buy one, it's going to come in a box all set for me to put it together.

*My father climbed a ladder (a ladder that he had climbed many times before) which was rated for something like 400 lbs. He was painting the side of our house at the second story when the ladder gave out from under him. Apparently, according to the lawyers for the company my parents tried to sue, everyone should know that when the ladder is extended the weight of the person should be multiplied by 2 (or some such nonsense). The fall shattered my father's ankle, and they lost the lawsuit.

3 comments:

Tina said...

I ride a bike, and I'm not exactly light. Cycling is great exercise if you're overweight, partly because the weight is taken off your knees - you get aerobic exercise without hammering your joints!

I live in the UK, but I guess thie advice about buying your bike would be relevant to the US as well. Find a good, local independently owned bike retailer and go there to buy your bike. They'll make sure its put together correctly, be able to service it, give you advice etc. I have a hybrid road / mountain bike, and it seems pretty sturdy to me, don't go for anything too flimsy.

And then enjoy!

Mind you, some of those hills in San Francisco are something else...

writinginAK said...

My sweetie and I have been having the same sorts of thoughts. I've been wondering if I could pull off occasionally doing a bike commute to work ... it's about 15 miles (which seems like a LOT to me, but my brother has fairly regularly done a 25 mile commute, without the benefit of the good trail system we've got between here and the hospital). So, my beloved and I experimented with riding the trail along the highway yesterday (skipping the ginormous hill), and probably did about 18 miles round trip. It was a glorious day, and we had a great time. I don't think I'm quite up to the commute yet, but it was a good start. And I think my beloved is probably a bit heavier than you ... she hasn't had any trouble with her bike to my knowledge. Then again, I don't think it's occurred to her to wonder about that. It was nice to do an exercise that her feet and knees pretty much could handle!

HistoryGeek said...

tina - thanks for the encouragement. I probably will do something like that, but it just rocked to find the website.

WritinginAK - Your ride sounds like a lot of fun...my commute would be easily doable (although it's also an okay walk if I want to get up early enough).