I got a bike! My New Biking Obsession
As you might imagine, my kitchen produces copious amounts of food. Not a day goes by that I don’t have something simmering on the stove, baking in the oven or smoking on the grill. I mean, it’s great, don’t get me wrong. My family loves trying new recipes each week. But there is a downside… or rather, a backside… or more specifically, MY backside. I mean, those calories have to go somewhere, right? So I work them off with exercise. Except, here’s the thing… I am allergic to exercise. It’s probably my least favorite thing to do. Give me a choice between doing dishes and jumping on a treadmill, and I’ll choose doing dishes every. single. time. For years I’ve been searching for a type of exercise that will keep me moving on a regular basis. I get bored SO easily. I’ve tried yoga, Pilates, even Zumba. You should see me attempting to shake my behind to Latin music, it’s pretty hilarious. But none of these adventures stuck; I eventually got bored with all of them.
Then I discovered biking, and my whole world changed!
Momo is a big fan of our new bikes.
It all started on a recent trip to Miami. My husband and I rented some cruisers on the boardwalk in Miami Beach to work off some of the pasta and cocktails we’d consumed the night before. We rode for over an hour in the Miami sunshine, peddling through the gentle ocean breeze. We pushed ourselves and worked up a sweat. The time flew by. Before we knew it, we’d worked off some serious calories and had a great time doing it. We ended up renting bikes every remaining day of our trip. We got to the point where our bodies craved that hour of movement.
Then we came home, and it was back to the treadmill. See, we don’t live in a very bicycle-friendly neighborhood (streets are super curvy and narrow), or we probably would have gotten bikes a long time ago. As I went back to my monotonous jogging routine, I started wondering if we could somehow make the bike thing work. I have a Jeep Cherokee with a hitch, after all. What’s to stop us from getting a rack and taking our bikes out to ride? There are so many awesome bike paths in Southern California. Plus my husband’s birthday was coming up, and he is the hardest person to buy a gift for… but I had a feeling he would love this.
Linus Dutchi and Electra Townie
So obviously, I went for it! I bought us two cruisers, a sage-green Linus Dutchi 3-speed for me and a black Electra Townie 7-speed for him. Aren’t they pretty? I love the vintage styling! We added bells and my husband got a rear-view mirror. I added a canvas saddle bag to the back rack of my Linus so we can carry water bottles and whatever else. It’s detachable, so I can ride to the farmer’s market, shop a bit and reattach it before riding home. How cool is that?
We also got a hanging rack for the back of my Jeep, but quickly found that it was scratching up our new bikes a bit, plus it was kind of awkward getting the bikes on and off the rack. I exchanged it for this platform T2 rack by Thule. So far, no complaints! Super easy loading and unloading, integrated locks. We’re happy campers.
Our T2 rack by Thule
I was worried that once we got the bikes that we might not actually take them out much… you know, the hassle of loading and unloading them. But we’ve gone riding almost every day for the past few weeks. We love it! We feel amazing and it’s helping us to stay trim. Pasta is on the horizon… why worry when I know I can work the calories off with a beautiful ride the next day?
I think with exercise, half the battle is finding something you love to do. My husband and I are now officially bike nerds, and I’m feeling better than I have in a long time.
Do you like to bike? What is your favorite way to exercise?
Use in good health!
Ignore all scare mongering. Wear a helmet if you want…or not. I ride a road bike and wear a helmet. But I routinely hit 45mph on downhills. When I’m riding my cruiser around town I don’t wear a helmet. Hundreds of thousands of people all over Europe ride their bikes everywhere and they don’t wear helmets.
Enjoy the new bike!
I work for a spine surgeon, and more than one bicyclist recovering from an accident has said “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t wearing a helmet!” It’s not so much the bicyclist, as the vehicle driver that takes his eye off the street for just one instant. Rather be safe than sorry!
http://bicyclesafe.com/helmets.html
I ❤️it- looks like mine but mine is red – you need a basket
YES!! Love this. I have the Linus Mixte. Their bikes are just gorg, I love them!! Let me know when you wanna come down to Long Beach and bike ride, we can show you our favorite rides!
Yes, beautiful!
Have fun!
Tori! I am so excited for you! Biking is so fun. My favorite way to do cardio is on a spinning bike. So fun! But, I am thinking about getting a regular bicycle soon since I live so close to the beach and PCH. Have a great time and happy early birthday to your hubby 🙂
PCH has a great path in Santa Monica, we took it a few days ago! Can’t wait to go again. We love that it gets us outdoors in the fresh air.
Very Nice. Love the bags for the back
Lovely !
I’ve been thinking of getting a bike again 🙂
Go for it Cheryl! We don’t regret it for a second. 🙂
Def in the near future 🙂 Love the color of yours…… I saw a cruiser in a turquoise/aqua shade at Walmart………probably should grab it before it’s gone, LOL…..enjoy your bike Tori…..and yes, hear you on working off the food, me too 🙂
She is a beaut!!
Check out the Facebook group the slow bicycle movement.
Great suggestion Jill, I just sent a request to join. Thanks!
Love the color
love it – so pretty!!
Prettiest bike ever!!!!
Isn’t she Angela?? I’m in love! <3
This is a beautiful BIKE.
Yes, please. No riding without helmets!
Yes mother. 🙂 <3
Just make sure to ALWAYS wear a helmet and keep bare skin covered!! (Road rash can be really nasty!!)
Have a good friend who just bought a new bike (along with his wife) and went for his first ride a this past weekend….He took a bad fall and just got out of the hospital following surgery for a broken femur!!!! There is a reason that most bike riders are children!!! They ‘bounce’! And they don’t have as far to fall.
Truly!
Nice ride!