Stay Active This School Year

The unofficial end of summer is here. The kids are back to school, which may mean more sitting at desks for them, and more sitting on the couch for you? But, back to school doesn't have to mean back to the couch.

Bike To School
Not everyone lives in an area where biking to school is an option. But, if you do, and you have the opportunity, why not make it part of the routine to ride with your kids to school. Then you can either ride on to take care of some minor errands, or head back home, hop in the car and off to work you go.

Before/After Dinner Ride
Summer might be winding down, but the sun is still shining. Plan to take a family ride after school (after all the homework is done of course!). Or plan for an early dinner and take an after dinner ride. Of course your kids may want to 'ride with their friends'. Well, maybe their friends parents ride too! The more the merrier!

Weekend Fun
Of course not everyone lives in a bike friendly environment. Maybe rides during the week are hard to squeeze in. Why not start a Saturday or Sunday morning family bike ride tradition. Throw the bikes on a bike rack and go explore your local parks and paths. More and more safe cycling routes and bike paths are popping up all over the country. It's up to us to use them! Find a local ride near you!

Share your tips for keeping the family active during the school year!

JOURNEY TO A BIKE: FROM FEET TO WHEELS

Since high school, I've been 'the runner'. My little brother and I would get up at the crack of dawn every morning to race through our neighborhood, then I'd usually head back to the treadmills when the sun went down after a long day of school or work, and run again until I could barely walk. I ran marathons in Houston and Galveston, and then a few in New York- but haven't been pounding out footprint rhythms since early May, when I broke my ankle. It was bad enough when I was on crutches, but even when I could walk again I couldn't run. The doctor told me to be as active as I wanted, so long as it didn't involve too much stress on my ankle. It was driving me crazy- my legs felt achy from disuse, I couldn't sleep… then I slept too much. So I decided to talk to the doctor about rehab. He said my ankle was healing fantastically- but a stress fracture from running tends to discourage running in the future. I might get back into 5k's soon enough, but I doubt I'll be running any marathons in the near future… so I'm on the hunt for a bike.

I've started with the stationary bike at my gym, but I live in New York City- where's a better place to have a bike than Queens? It sure beats the bus, and it'll keep me active. So as of 48 hours ago, I've become a future cyclist- and I hope you all get a kick out of following my journey.

Don't just read along, though. Have any particularly wise tips about biking? Recommend one brand or model over another? What's your favorite diet to keep yourself from crashing after a 10-mile ride? Feel free to comment, suggest, and advise- and if you have any questions, feel free to ask those, too. Whether it's something I can already answer or something I'll happily try out to provide the info for you, we can all learn together.

Until next time- ride safely!