BICYCLING ACTIVITY CARD

Just what does it take to become acyclist?

Gear UpA Bike. Think of the type of ridingyou want to do before you buy one.Mountain bikes are strong andstable and built for gravel roadsand tricky trails. Racing bikes arebuilt to go super fast on pavement,and sport bikes, a combination ofboth, are good for many differentpurposes.

A Helmet. Your helmet should sitright above your eyebrows and betightly buckled so it doesn't slipwhile you are riding.

Play it SafeUse your head and wear a helmet! You should alwayswear a helmet when you ride — plus, it's the law inmany states. It's also important that your helmet isapproved by one of the groups who test helmets to seewhich ones are the best: the Consumer Product SafetyCommission (CPSC) or Snell B-95 standards are bestfor bicycling helmets. Try not to ride at night or in badweather, and wear brightly colored, or reflectiveclothes whenever you ride so you can be seen. You caneven put reflectors or funky reflective stickers on yourbike — who knew being safe could look so cool? Also,watch out for loose pant legs and shoe laces that couldget caught in your bike chain.

Be street smart. Ride on theright side of the road, moving

Heart & Lungs

Upper & LowerLegs

Parts ofthe BodyWorked

Lifetime Fitness Bicycling and Walking

with traffic, and obey all trafficsigns and signals. Discuss thebest riding routes with yourparents — they'll help youdetermine safe places to ridenear your home.

When you reach an intersection, be sure to stop andlook left, right, and then left again to check for cars —then go. Use hand signals to show when you're goingto turn, and be sure to keep an eye out for roughpavement ahead so you can avoid it. And although youmay think you can't go out without your favorite tunes,never wear headphones when you're on your bike.

How to PlayBicycling can be a great competitive sport, as well as afun activity to do with your friends. And there areplenty of different types of bicycling depending on yourpersonality. If you love to go fast-n-furious, bicycleracing is probably more your speed. If you like to hitthe rocky road, mountain biking sounds more like yourtaste. And if you just like to pedal for pleasure, anykind of bicycling will do. Try riding to school or to afriend's house!

OlogyThe faster you are going, the longer it will take you tocompletely stop your bike once you hit the brakes.Science says that if you are going 20 MPH and you hitthe brakes, it will take 15 feet to stop if you are on drypavement, and 23 1/2 feet if you are on wet pavement,so make sure you brake early!

Fun Facts100 calories can power a cyclist for 3 miles, but couldonly power a car for 280 feet.

In 1995, 50-year-old Fred Rompelberg set a new speed

Lifetime Fitness Bicycling and Walking

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA

800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636 ) TTY: (888) 232-6348

Page last reviewed: January 22, 2013Page last updated: January 22, 2013Content source: Division of Population Health, National Center forChronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

record for cycling at 166.9 mph.

Related LinksThe Science of Cycling(http://www.exploratorium.edu/cycling/) (http://www.cdc.gov/Other/disclaimer.html)

US Cycling (http://www.usacycling.org/) (http://www.cdc.gov/Other/disclaimer.html)

Bicycling Magazine(http://www.bicycling.com/) (http://www.cdc.gov/Other/disclaimer.html)

Lifetime Fitness Bicycling and Walking

http://www.cdc.gov/bam/activity/cards/bicycling.html [1/22/2014] 3

http://www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/requestform.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/NCCDPHP/dph/http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/http://www.exploratorium.edu/cycling/http://www.usacycling.org/http://www.bicycling.com/http://www.cdc.gov/Other/disclaimer.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/Other/disclaimer.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/Other/disclaimer.htmlhttp://www.usa.gov/http://www.hhs.gov/

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