{"id":2441,"date":"2016-05-21T03:42:51","date_gmt":"2016-05-21T10:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/?p=2441"},"modified":"2016-05-19T22:57:54","modified_gmt":"2016-05-20T05:57:54","slug":"national-bike-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/featured\/national-bike-month\/","title":{"rendered":"National Bike Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bike_month-full.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2442 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bike_month-550.jpg\" alt=\"National Bike Month Poster\" width=\"550\" height=\"707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bike_month-550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bike_month-550-233x300.jpg 233w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>May is National Bike Month in the U.S. \u00a0During the month, the benefits of bicycling are highlighted in an effort to encourage more people to get their bikes out of storage and onto the roads and trails.<\/p>\n<h1>Urban Bicycling<\/h1>\n<p>People around the world enjoy bicycling on a daily basis and you can too. \u00a0If you live in or near a city, you will spend most of your time bicycling on roads or bike lanes. \u00a0That means you must operate your bicycle following all the rules of road that apply when driving your car. \u00a0Here are a few common things I have seen:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Riding on the sidewalk<\/li>\n<li>Riding against traffic<\/li>\n<li>Running stop signs and signals<\/li>\n<li>Weaving in and out in traffic<\/li>\n<li>Failure to signal turns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are not things one would do in a car so I wonder what it is about bicycles that makes people imagine that these things would be safe to do. \u00a0The bottom line with safety is to obey the rules. \u00a0Drivers of motor vehicles expect that of you. \u00a0If you defy their expectations, \u00a0you are endangering your life &#8211; motor vehicles win every time!<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a short video that shows the joy of urban bicycling around the world. \u00a0perhaps it will inspire you to get out there. (<a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/86581964\" target=\"_blank\">vimeo.com\/86581964<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Power of Bicycling (Get Psyched)\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/86581964?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1>Mountain Biking<\/h1>\n<p>If you can get out of the city to the public lands of the U.S. you will find an entirely different experience. \u00a0 Here, the rules of the road give way to the rules of the trail. \u00a0The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imba.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">International Mountain Bicycling Association<\/a> offers six basic rules:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ride Open Trails<\/strong> &#8211; If a trail is on private land, ask permission to use it first. \u00a0If it&#8217;s closed, it&#8217;s closed for a reason &#8211; even if you don&#8217;t know the reason. \u00a0Respect the trail and the property rights of others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Leave No Trace<\/strong> &#8211; This is the same concept that applies to hiking and backpacking in the wilderness, with some special twists. \u00a0For example, \u00a0a muddy trail can be severely damaged by by a bicycle. \u00a0If you come across a muddy spot, find a better way to get through it &#8211; even if you have to walk. \u00a0If the whole trail is muddy, go elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Control Your Bike<\/strong> &#8211; In most places you will be sharing a trail with hikers and animals and you will come across a lot of hazards in the trail. \u00a0You don&#8217;t need to fly through the air, but you do need to be aware of the people, animals and conditions around you. \u00a0You are responsible for your own safety as well as the safety of others you meet on the trail.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yield Properly<\/strong> &#8211; Yield the right-of-way to hikers, pack stock and the like. \u00a0Let them know you are coming and in the case of horses or other pack stock, \u00a0stop, step off the trail and let them pass without harassment. \u00a0Yield to uphill traffic and pass carefully.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Never Scare Animals<\/strong> &#8211; Be especially careful around horses, llamas or other livestock. \u00a0They may not be familiar with bicycles and can react poorly. \u00a0Give them space. \u00a0Do not harass wildlife &#8211; give those animals space too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Plan Ahead<\/strong> &#8211; Mountain biking\u00a0is the same as\u00a0any other outdoor adventure in this regard. \u00a0You must have the proper equipment in proper working order and use it properly. \u00a0Carry rain gear and always wear a helmet.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve featured some crazy mountain biker videos in our weekly newsletter, but most of us aren&#8217;t into that kind of mountain biking. \u00a0You don&#8217;t need to fly through the air to have an outstanding experience. \u00a0Here&#8217;s a more reasonable video\u00a0that illustrates some spectacular country you can experience on a bicycle.(<a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/9537073\" target=\"_blank\">vimeo.com\/9537073<\/a>)<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Northwest Mountain Biking\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/9537073?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1>Get Out There<\/h1>\n<p>The bottom line for National Bike\u00a0Month &#8211; or any month for that matter &#8211; is to get out there and do it. \u00a0If it&#8217;s been awhile since you were on a bicycle, \u00a0start by tooling around your neighborhood. \u00a0You will soon find yourself traveling farther every day. \u00a0You might try commuting to work on your bicycle &#8211; in some situations\u00a0it&#8217;s faster than a car. \u00a0Before you know it you&#8217;ll be in shape and eager to hit \u00a0the mountain trails. \u00a0Have fun!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'>National Bike Month is sponsored by the<a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"> League of American Bicyclists<\/a>. \u00a0That&#8217;s a group that was formed in 1880 as the League of American Wheelman with the purpose of improving roads so that bicycles could use them. \u00a0The group was instrumental in creating the improved roads that literally paved the way for our modern road system.<\/div><\/div>\n<h1>Please Share<\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May is National Bike Month in the U.S. \u00a0During the month, the benefits of bicycling are highlighted in an effort to encourage more people to get their bikes out of storage and onto the roads and trails. Urban Bicycling People around the world enjoy bicycling on a daily basis and you can too. \u00a0If you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,7,2,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activities","category-adventure","category-featured","category-motivation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2441"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2448,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441\/revisions\/2448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}