Cycling awareness !!

Cycling has become an emerging sports activity in India, both as a form of exercise involving shorter rides as well as longer endurance century plus rides. Bike riding provides the same cardiovascular benefits which is derived from any other form of aerobic exercise be it walking, jogging or dancing. It strengthens your body muscle but helps preserve the cartilage as biking prevents stress on the knee and ankle joints. Having said that, its specially advantageous for women, elderly people, obese who suffer from muscle strain, foot problems, knee troubles, back pain or impact related injuries caused by running, jogging or walking. Biking frequently can also help fight the incremental weight gain and waistline expansion that many women experience at midlife. Being a runner and trekker first and then coming into cycling, I can guarantee this for sure that cycling is the best form of exercise today for female and it has always been my aim to promote cycling and motivate the young female riders to take up this sport and unleash their inner strength. 

I was introduced to the world of cycling recently (Aug 2018) after my marriage by my husband Sanat Rath who is an endurance cyclist. We started riding on a tandem initially for 15-20 kms which was a sort of fun ride but my interest in cycling crossed its limits when we did a 200 kms brevet ride on tandem on 5th Nov 2018. To start with let me clarify few points. First of all what a tandem bike is??
Tandem is a bicycle meant for two riders, where both the riders need to pedal together in perfect sync. To accommodate both the riders, the weight of the bicycle is greater than normal cycle (nearly 25 kg) and the length is also more. The huge weight of the bicycle as well as the cumulative weight of the riders, in addition to its length, requires perfect coordination to balance and ride it smoothly. Stops, turns, acceleration, deceleration everything needs to be done together. The stoker (person at the rear) has to trust the pilot (front rider)


Tandem riding, we learnt, has unique challenges. The huge weight of the bicycle as well as the cumulative weight of the riders, in addition to its length, requires perfect coordination to balance and ride it smoothly. Stops, turns, acceleration, deceleration, everything needs to be done together. the stoker (person at the rear) has to trsut the person captaining the bike, and the captain has to rely on a stoker who maintains a steady position and responsive to choices the captain makes.

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