What kind of bike is right for you?
Walk into a bike shop today, and it's easy to get lost in the choices.
There are road bikes and hybrid bikes, mountain bikes and comfort bikes. Beach cruisers and commuting bikes. "City path" bikes and touring bikes. Even the most basic bike, the standard beach cruiser, may be operating under a new alias: a lifestyle bike.
Confused? No wonder.
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The first steps inside a bike shop can be intimidating, especially for the derailleur-challenged. But the bike industry, which once catered strictly to Lance Armstrong wannabes and the mountain-bike crowd, is today aiming at people who want to love bicycling as they did as children.
Obesity rates show no decline in US
WASHINGTON - Loosen the belt buckle another notch: Obesity rates continued to climb in 31 states last year, and no state showed a decline.
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This year's report, for the first time, looked at rates of overweight children ages 10 to 17. The District of Columbia had the highest percentage
2007 Benchmarking Report
- A positive relationship exists between the built environment and levels of biking and walking.
- Where levels of biking and walking are higher, bicycle and pedestrian safety is greater.
- Cities with strong Thunderhead organizations generally have high levels of biking and walking.
- Higher levels of biking and walking coincide with lower levels of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes and higher levels of adults meeting recommended levels of daily physical activity. This suggests that increased biking and walking would contribute to a healthier society.
- Data revealed that while some cities and states lead others as models for bicycle and pedestrian policies and provisions, all states and cities have a need for improvement.
Exercise may generate new blood vessels
VIENNA, Austria - Having a bad heart doesn't mean you can skip exercise, doctors said Wednesday. In fact, it may even help your heart to repair itself. Research presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting showed that exercise sparks the creation of new heart vessels.
In a small study of 37 people at Leipzig University in Germany, Dr. Robert Hollriegel found that people with serious heart failure who rode a bike for up to 30 minutes a day for four months produced new stem cells in their bones.
They also had more small blood vessels in their muscles. Those who didn't exercise had no change in their vessels or muscles.
Most patients with heart failure are over 70 years old, and some can barely walk a few steps without stopping for rest. Doctors think that even these patients would benefit from light exercise such as walking or cycling. To ensure that patients will be able to handle a certain level of physical activity, doctors conduct a test first to determine their maximum limits and to ensure they would not be exceeded. Some exercise regimens also are supervised by health professionals.
University of Md. working to increase bike usage
College Park - After working to reduce the numbers of cars on the College Park campus by promoting its shuttle bus system, the University of Maryland is now focusing on increasing the use of bikes.