Recreational

Riders

You’re a recreational rider who rides occasionally. Sharpen your skills and broaden your horizons here. Follow the yellow bicycle icon for information you can use to elevate your experience.

Most people are recreational bikers.  Recreational bikers like to stay fit, and they like to bike, but they usually bike for the scenery and their bike rides are destination rides.  They might spend a Saturday morning biking into the hills to see the autumn foliage, or biking to a small craft fair to look around or they might spend a weekend afternoon biking through some local bike parks or bike paths.  Recreational biking has grown in leaps and bounds in the last few years as families have tried to combine fitness activities and family time and individuals have searched for a way to get out of the office and get back to nature on weekends.

Recreational biking is sometimes referred to as “bike sightseeing” because the pace of the bike ride is usually pretty leisurely and the focus is on having fun rather than on training for a bike competition. There are groups of cyclists that organize biking day trips and weekend trips where riders can carry equipment with them or just bring plenty of money and ride as many as 50 miles each day staying in hotels or small inns each way.  Travel agents have realized that many people are recreational cyclists and have added group tours to their offerings and many recreational cyclists can plan out trips in advance on the Internet.

Some recreational cyclists keep detailed blogs about their travels which are read by thousands of other recreational cyclists and have recommendations about where to go and where not to go for cyclists of all levels.  If you are a recreational cyclist looking for ideas on places to go both locally and far away searching on the Internet can be a great way to connect with other recreational cyclists, get advice on equipment and supplies, and get inspiration about where you want to go.

Recreational cycling is a great family activity.  If you have been looking for a way to get your kids off the couch and being more active recreational cycling can be a great way to get them interested in being outdoors.  Family biking trips or just a daily ride through the local bike paths can lead to increased physical fitness, weight loss, and a love of the outdoors that they can benefit from during the rest of their lives.  To get your family interested in recreational biking start slow. Begin by scheduling time once a week for a family bike ride. Keep it short at first to make sure that everyone can handle the ride no matter what their fitness level is.  Gradually start increasing the length of the rides and start suggesting destinations that you can bike to.  You may find that the kids love recreational biking even more than you do and the whole family will benefit from having regular family time each week.