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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3706 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for February 1, 2023

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I recently got free access to a bike-sharing platform for 1 month, and I have been abusing the shit out of it, I cycled 30 km (18 miles) just a day back and already plan on riding again today. I used to cycle a lot as a teenager but I thought I grew out of it, certainly not what happened, cycling is just as enjoyable to me as it used to be. I really cannot understate how much I am enjoying cycling again. I wake up and immediately start thinking about and preparing for the next ride.

For those of you who live in a city with bike sharing, I strongly suggest you give it a try. Viewing a city through the eyes of a cyclist is much unlike viewing it through the window of a car or viewing it as a pedestrian. You are exposed to the weather like a pedestrian but traveling fast enough that you can scan an entire neighborhood and its venues in a reasonable amount of time. You can also stop anywhere you want as opposed to the stressful process of finding and paying for parking with a car. And of course, having a meal after the trip is a lot more satisfying once you have done 2 hours of exercise. Also, it's better if you can convince a friend or two to ride along with you.

I grew up next to a big city (Dubai, Population 4 million) but lived in the neighboring small city of Sharjah (population 1.2 million, ik not really small). Imagine NYC and northern NJ suburbs to get the dynamics between the two cities. So cycling in the big city, I've been able to experience the city I grew up next to through the eyes of a tourist because I rarely ever visit it other than for school or work.

There's fewer better ways to spend a summer day than on a brewery ride with good friends. I'm lucky enough (and deliberately selected for) living in a city that's very bike friendly in the urban area and small enough to get to more open roads quickly. There's a brewery situated on a river that has live outdoor music on summer weekends that is ~18 miles to bike to, which is just about the perfect distance for me to go before feeling like a bit of a break.

First time I am hearing of a brewery ride. Does cycling and drinking copious amounts of beer mix well? Assuming you have to ride back home.

I can vouch for the fact that is very fun, if not very safe.

Ha, have to stay away from the copious end of things. A pint or two and hopping back on works fine (at least for me). Stick to lower ABV stuff.

Do you get people who say it's too hot to cycle in Dubai half of the year the way we get people who say it's too cold to cycle in Moscow half of the year?

Huh. I just looked at the average temperatures in Moscow and it's much warmer in the winter than I was expecting. Biking can get kind of rough at those temperatures, but year round outdoor running there seems like it should be fine. Maybe a couple weeks per year that are so cold that it's truly unpleasant, but mostly not that big of a deal.

It definitely is too hot to cycle for 8 months of the year, I will say that. Most of the year the temperature is above 40C (104F) even at midnight (tourists really don't see that one coming)! And gets up to 50C (122F) and stays as such during the truly hellish summer months. I don't know if you experienced 50C but you will be drenched in sweat in 5 minutes. Some people keep an extra pair of clothes in their car to work around that.

During the winter months, it's 20C (68F) in the daytime and 10-15C (50-60F) at night and is perfect outdoor activity weather.

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