All About You FRIDAY – Go Ride a Bike

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I don’t really know when my love of the bicycle began, but I’ve been intrigued with the two-wheeled machine for a long time. I raced BMX bikes when I was a kid, getting my uncle to secretly drop me off at the track because my dad didn’t think it was a good use of my time. Then when I was an adult, I raced mountain bike time trials. I wasn’t fast, but I have the bragging rights of coming in dead last at a race in Bloomer Park but winning my division because I was the only woman over 30 to show up to ride in a rainstorm. Then for a decade, I raced triathlons, investing in a sleek carbon fiber bike that made me look way faster than I was. 

But the thing that really puts a smile on my face is to grab my no-frills, single-speed, steel frame Wabi cycle and ride around my neighborhood. In 2020, when the world shut down and my clinic closed for 6 weeks, I mapped out rides of up to 35 miles through quiet residential streets of Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Berkley, Ferndale, Huntington Woods and Royal Oak. That’s my bike on the left. It’s leaning on a wall because I stopped to get ice cream at the Dairy Mat on Woodward. 

I learned how to wrench on bicycles in my 40’s and volunteered at Back Alley Bikes in Detroit and in 2019, I directed my mechanic efforts to one of the best non-profits for cycling, Free Bikes For Kids (FB4K) Detroit, where you can sign up to clean, prep and wrench on thousands of bikes that are given away to kids every December. This is the FB4K Warehouse after donation day.

And every single one of those bikes gets fixed up and donated to a kid in Metro Detroit over the course of two months. Bikes put smiles on kids faces. I hope you join us this year.

In 2018, I visited one of the happiest places on earth. Not Disneyland, Copenhagen, Denmark, where cyclists far outnumber motorists and the infrastructure of the city supports commuting on bicycle. I wanted to see if it was cycling that made the place so happy. I believe it does and now researchers agree. According to a study out of Clemson and the University of Pennsylvania, people who ride their bikes to a destination are the happiest.

So blow the dust of the bike in the garage. Forget about training plans and special shoes. Just jump on your bike and feel the wind in your face. For 2 miles or 40. It won’t matter. The second your butt hits the saddle and you take off, you will feel a smile spread across your face. Here’s some cycling ideas to get you started:

  1. Best Road Biking Trails of Detroit – Independently explore Belle Isle, the Dequindre Cut and more.
  2. Bike Tours in the City (Wheelhouse – Ride and learn about architecture, street art, the history of music in Detroit and more
  3. Riverbends Park, Shelby Township – Great paved paths through the park
  4. Clinton River Trail – 16-mile multi-use path connecting Sylvan Lake to Rochester. Lots of food stops on the way! 

It’s Friday. Don’t forget to celebrate. 

Until next time…

Kind Regards,
MoveWell Academy
[email protected]

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