Is an ebike vacation in your future?

Recreational cyclists love to talk about trips with the new roads they could ride. And their hopes that their spouse or significant other might be talked into coming along. But their worries about “being able to keep up” have often been a problem.

The arrival of the electric assist bike (ebike) has eliminated that worry about physical ability and in the process changed the travel equation. In the last year two friends (independently) bought ebikes for their wives and I’ve seen a 180 degree change in our travel discussions. Their partner is now the one asking to join in on local rides and the one suggesting biking trips that they should take.

Ebike technology marries a battery powered motor with the traditional pedal-only powered bike to provide the extra oomph to let even the weakest rider stay with a group. It is not an electric scooter. If you don’t pedal, you don’t get a boost. With the addition of a variable power setting you can add just as much assist as you need. And you can’t cheat as increasing road speed automatically scales back the amount of the assist until it cuts out at 20 miles an hour.









Ebikes are a bit heavier than a regular hybrid bike, but on a flat road they can be ridden with the power off, or with a minimal assist setting to compensate for the extra weight. If you are behind on your daily exercise quota, just turn off the power. And if you need a break, there is no reason to stop. Just add a little extra battery boost and catch your breath.

The ebike let’s you consider a biking vacation without worries about embarrassing yourself or being left behind.  In addition it eliminates the need to embark on a time consuming, and often daunting, pre trip training program.  The rider still needs basic bike skills and should be a regular cyclist with the stamina to ride 25 miles three or four times a week. But at that level of fitness, they could sign on to a week long bike tour of 40 to 50 miles a day without a worry about holding up the group or having to give up and ride in the van.

Ebike technology has arrived just as the active vacation market is taking off. A surge in baby boomer retirements is well underway and with their more active lifestyles the number signing up for active vacations is increasing by the month. This group is more adventurous than their parents and eager to discover new destinations and  try out new and exciting adventure vacations. And as they build new friendships with similarly minded people, the demand is only going to increase. Couples who have not previously done much biking can join in as well, and this new found capability opens up new ways to see the countryside, small towns, and incredible vistas.

Active vacations are the logical next step as this group incorporates the daily walk or their time at the gym into their vacations and time away from home. Rather than car touring, taking a cruise, or getting on-off a bus, they want a more hands-on experience that includes trekking, walking or biking. Travel brochures are reflecting this change with an increase in the number of tours offering the combination of adventure, cultural immersion,  and physical challenge.

The rapid growth in bicycling in older age groups is another aspect of this change. Midlife runners are transitioning to biking as their body becomes less resilient and nagging high impact injuries become more common. Between 1995 and 2009 the rise in biking among those aged 60-79 accounted for 37 percent of the total nationwide increase in bike trips.




As the barrier to considering themselves as cyclists decreases, it’s not unexpected to find biking incorporated into more active vacations. Now with the electric assist bicycle arriving on the scene, that shift is accelerating.

Ebike rental options are being added to almost all cycling tours. The additional cost is minimal given the experience that awaits. Pick your country, pick your season, find a few recreational cyclist friends and you have all the ingredients to try it for yourself. A  new approach for an active vacation to get you get close to the people and culture of any country you choose to visit. The world will look different from two wheels. Enjoy.

Links:

http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/adventure-tourism-is-a-growing-market-among-seniors

http://peopleforbikes.org/blog/bike-use-is-rising-among-the-young-but-it-is-skyrocketing-among-the-old/

https://www.axcess-electric-bikes.co.uk/12-myths-about-electric-bikes/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/business/e-bikes-electric-bicycles.html

Dock-less Bicycles - the final piece of an urban transportation infra-structure.

Have you driven in Seattle recently? Or tried to find a place to park? Driving into the city is an ever more challenging undertaking. Shared, dock-less bicycles may be the final piece of the solution for those who want to just park their cars in favor of alternate transportation.

I saw my first dock-less bicycle technology late this summer while walking in the south Lake Union area when I wandered past randomly parked neon colored bikes - lime green, orange, and yellow. Each had a unique rear wheel lock and digital QR code.

Shared bicycles have been around for years, but were inconvenient being limited by the need to rent (and return) them at established docking stations which were often blocks away from where you wanted to start or finish your ride. This was a major factor in the limited use of the Seattle Pronto bike share program which in turn led to its bankruptcy earlier this year. 

Now GPS and wireless wheel locking technology have changed the game for bike sharing.

In a hurry to get to the bus? Grab a bike. Late for an appointment? Grab a bike. All you need is a smart phone, a dock-less bike app, and a credit card.

First step - find a bike. The smart phone app points you to the location of available bikes, usually within a few blocks of your location. 

Then take a short walk and find the readily identified neon colored bike. 

Finally, scan the individual QR code on the bike with the smart phone camera, and as you provided a credit card when you activated the app, it is remotely unlocked.

You now have a bike to ride to the destination of your choice. When you arrive, park the bike anywhere and re-engage the lock - and no additional hassle to find a docking station.

You will be (painlessly) charge a dollar per half hour of actual use.

Lime Bikes (one of 3 pilots in Seattle) launched its pilot in July, 2017, with 2000 bikes and intends to expand to 10,000 bikes within a year. The other two pilots (Orange and Yellow bikes) have similar plans.

This exponential rate of growth of dock-less biking around the world has revitalized the dying bicycle manufacturing industry in China. Planned production to meet dock-less cycling bike demands is estimated as equivalent to 50 percent of the whole industry’s current 2017 capacity.

As with all new technologies, there are a few challenges to fix before we reach the final product. 

You need to bring your own helmet (it is the law in Seattle, although loosely enforced). Too many parked bikes on the sidewalk will soon become clutter rather than convenience so the city needs to bring some rationale to where they can be left. And finally there is the issue of breakdowns and theft.

I predict dock- less bikes will be the "disruptive" technology that is going to change how we get about in our large and congested cities. They are the final piece in the urban transportation puzzle, faster than walking and cheaper than Uber.

Assuming the problems with car congestion and parking continue to get worse, I think we are seeing how we can implement a bridge to span the gap between walking and the fixed rail/bus systems for longer distances. As well as a great solution for short distance trips to the local grocery store.

References:

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/cycle-share-overload-deluge-neon-bikes-hits-seattle-just-start/

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/07/dockless-bike-sharing-lands-in-seattle-and-leads-us-down-unsavory-alleyways/

A Winter Program to Maintain Your Summer Fitness.

The days are getting shorter. The weather is getting wetter. Now is that familiar winter challenge: working in a daily walk or run to keep in shape until finally Spring returns. Finding a free 15 or 20 minutes in a busy day has always been a challenge, but it is definitely easier than finding an hour to visit the gym. 

Here are a few ideas to maintain your fitness until the grey skies part in Spring. And as a plus the same exercise routines can be used to help you maintain fitness during a busy time at work or a summer vacation. 

A balanced exercise regimen has three components - strength training, cardiovascular fitness, and osteoporosis prevention. 

Strength (Resistance) Training (15 minutes 3 times a week) 

You don’t have to do a gym workout with heavy weights to maintain muscle tone and strength. Just the idea of working out with free weights (or machines) is daunting and a definite barrier to starting a regular resistance training program. 

So how about using lighter weights? 

A recent study proved that lifting relatively light weights can build equal strength and muscle size. Instead of using 90 percent of your personal one-repetition maximum for 8 to 10 repetitions, you can drop the weight to 50 percent of your one rep maximum for more repetitions. Twenty-five repetitions. Three sets. Three times a week. 

The key to improving strength is to stress the muscle to the point of complete fatigue. You cannot do one more repetition. But more reps of lighter weights gets you the same benefit of fewer reps with a heavier load. 

A switch to lighter weights will also mean that you can now use your own body weight as an exercise load (rather than free weights at the gym) to maintain your strength. If you are interested in suggestions for exercises you might do at home, here is a place to start: https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/strength-training-plyometrics

Cardiovascular (Aerobic) Fitness (5 minutes, 3 times per week) 

Numerous studies have shown that just a few minutes of High Intensity Interval Training (HIT) at an intensity approaching your maximum capacity produce the same metabolic changes in the muscles as those found after hours of running or biking. 

HIT strategies are built around the use of episodes of intense activity alternating with brief periods of recovery. An intensity that will leave you sweating and short of breath, 8 or 9 on a discomfort scale of 1 to 10. 

Although intervals have traditionally been done on a treadmill or stationary bike, many activities can be adapted to HIT. For example, you can increase the pace of a walk, especially if you are going up a slight incline, or periodically add in a short bout of walking stairs. Twenty seconds of intense activity with a 10-second recovery break. Three sets. Three times a week. This appears to be the shortest interval workout that maintains CV fitness. If you are looking to improve, then additional repetitions for longer periods are necessary. 

Osteoporosis Prevention (2 minutes, daily) 

Osteoporosis prevention should be part of any health maintenance exercise program, especially for women. While strength training keeps the ligaments strong, it is jarring, impact activities that stimulate bone strength. Running will work, but that means getting into your gear and going outside. If you have a treadmill, that works as well, but you need to jog not just walk fast. 

Additional options for indoor impact activities include hopping (one foot or two), jumping jacks and jumping rope. And if you want to up the intensity, try some HIT credit as well.  

Daily, two sets of 60 seconds each will do the trick. 

So there you are. Just 10 to 15 minutes day will help you maintain your summer fitness. Alternate strength and CV days, and end each session with a few minutes of hopping or jumping. Here is the hard part - building it into your daily routine. 

Extra Credit – Stretching 

Flexibility should really be on your list as well, but it is generally not considered a “fitness” activity. Being flexible decreases the odds of injury from aerobic and resistance training. Yoga, pilates and passive stretching (no bouncing as you try to touch your toes). But do wait until AFTER you are warmed up to stretch, and don’t force it.

Six Diet Tips Physicians Should Share with Their Patients

We are all exposed on a daily basis to a barrage of “healthy” diet and nutrition information - on television, over the internet, and in print. How do all of us sort out “fake” facts (unsubstantiated opinions) from advice based on solid science and medical studies? I recently ran across an article in an online medical journal that suggested six healthy eating diet tips (supported by multiple published studies in the medical literature) all physicians should shared with their patients as part of an annual wellness visit.

1. Avoid all processed foods.

Processed foods are all foods prepared outside the home. Examples include packaged snacks, smoked meats, white flour, sugar-sweetened foods, and of course sodas and colas. Why? Because of their high salt and sugar content. These foods are the source of more than 70% of the salt (a risk factor for high blood pressure in susceptible individuals) in the American diet and significant sugar in one form or another. As we face the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes, sugar is now the “new tobacco”, to be avoided whenever possible. It is estimated that avoiding processed foods and drinking sugared sodas decreases one’s risk of dying rate by 10%.

2. Choose natural foods with a wide variety of colors and textures.

Replace those processed foods with natural foods - foods as close to their original, natural states as possible. Replacing processed foods with nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, and vegetables will significantly improve your long-term health and longevity. As a rule of thumb, the American Heart Association recommends that at least one half of your plate be filled with fruits and vegetables.

3. Choose realistic, balanced diets for weight loss and weight maintenance.

A successful diet plan is the one that you can stick to. Many diets have proven effective for weight loss and weight maintenance, but  there is no single one that is easier or better.  When a diet fails, it is generally because it is too restrictive, unbalanced, or causes too rapid weight loss leading to a rebound weight gain and the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting (lose - gain - lose).

The common factors in successful diets (which we should all make part of our daily eating) include:  

• An increase in vegetables and fruits
• An emphasis on foods high in fiber
• More whole-grain foods;
• Minimal sugar (especially sugar-sweetened beverages);
• Adequate protein (especially non-meat protein)
• Using healthy fats (oils).

4. Use healthy oils for heart health.

This includes a move to oily fish (such as salmon) which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids as our “meat” or protein for one or two meals a week, and cooking with one of the healthy oils - olive oil, avocado oil, canola oil, walnut oil, flaxseed oil, or chia seed oil.

5. Forego red meat and live longer.

Along with avoiding processed foods, this dietary change offers the most health benefit. Although red meat is the principal source of protein in our traditional American diet, research has repeatedly shown that consumption of red meat is linked to increased risks for cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Long term studies of over 100,000 health professionals followed for 28 years showed that cutting (not eliminating) red meat consumption - either by eating half servings of red meat or substituting fish, poultry, legumes, or nuts - almost 10% of the deaths could have been prevented.

6. Consume fermented foods/probiotics and fiber for gastrointestinal and overall health.

I’ve recently written several columns explaining the beneficial effect of certain colon bacteria (our microbiome) on our health. Adequate dietary fiber (from fruits and vegetables) keeps the microbiome healthy and in balance.  Probiotics (kefir; unpasteurized, fermented foods) contain microorganisms that may confer additional gastrointestinal benefits.

These six changes in your daily diet are based on multiple well supervised studies in the medical literature and will increase your overall health.  I think you are beginning to see a common dietary theme. More fruits and vegetables, less red meat (replaced with more soy, beans or fish to keep a healthy protein intake), and elimination of all sugars. Having tried to make these changes myself, I understand how hard it is to break personal food choice habits, and if you are the cook, your family’s eating habits as well. But keep at it. Even small changes will make a difference.


Links

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/882156#vp_1