| My days of running for pleasure and exercise ended | | | | automatic asshifting gears. You especially notice the |
| when Imoved to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. I | | | | benefits whenyou're road-biking; you're gaining on the |
| had beenliving in the relatively flat Willamette River | | | | entire strokeinstead of only the downward push. |
| Valley wherethere were miles of level bark running | | | | 4. Hydration pack (a backpack with a water-bladder - |
| trails. Now in the | | | | Camelbak brand is an example). My first one was a |
| Gorge, I encountered rocky, steep trails that were | | | | gift, or |
| tortureto my hips and knees. It was time to find a | | | | I might never have tried one. Now I love having 100 |
| replacement forrunning. | | | | ouncesof water easily available, instead of that goofy |
| The Gorge of the Columbia River is a recreation | | | | move whereyou have to reach down and get the |
| meccathat's especially attractive to mountain bike | | | | water bottle out of therack, lift your head to drink - |
| riders andwindsurfers. Swimming doesn't appeal to me, | | | | losing sight of the trail,and then fumbling the water |
| so I decidedto check out mountain biking. In the end, | | | | bottle back into the rack. Nowonder I hardly ever drank |
| that was amongthe best decisions I've made, but I | | | | enough during rides and ended upslightly dehydrated |
| began with caution. | | | | every time. I also appreciate that thepack holds my |
| For one thing, I didn't know if my interest would last. | | | | keys, cell phone, energy bar, and rain jacket. |
| That's why I started by getting a low-end bike (that | | | | A suggestion: You'll still want to keep a full waterbottle |
| hadsome serious weight problems) It was a clunker, | | | | on your bike. It's good defense against dogs thatchase |
| lookingback on it now. I also held back on investing in | | | | you. Get good at your aim and you can land a |
| some ofthe biking 'gear'. It's not that I'm cheap - it's | | | | squirtwithout missing a stroke. It's very satisfying, and |
| justthat much of it seemed to be for hip-ness instead | | | | the dogwill run away. |
| ofusefulness. | | | | 5. Safety goggles - yellow. Of course, you should |
| However, after using a few of the items, I understood | | | | haveprotection for your eyes, but I wondered about |
| thatwhile the gear might make you look 'cool', it also | | | | thenecessity of yellow or orange lenses. Seemed like |
| reallydoes help you function better. Here are 7 of my | | | | poser-gear when I began to see them around. Then I |
| favoritepieces that I didn't think I'd care about (back in | | | | used a pair. |
| my post-runner/pre-biker days) and now I wouldn't | | | | What difference in visibility! The yellow lenses really |
| dream of beingwithout. | | | | dobrighten up shady trails and they help you a lot |
| 1. Padded shorts. If you mountain bike, road bike, orboth, | | | | duringovercast or lower-light times of day. |
| make the investment in having these. Purely andsimply, | | | | 6. Half-finger gloves. The palms are padded, so |
| your ride will be more comfortable. | | | | thatfeels nice on long rides. The best part is what they |
| 2. Well-vented helmet. You've got to buy a helmet | | | | dofor you on wipe-outs, which are bound to happen. |
| anyway,right? If you don't wear one you're crazy. | | | | I'vegotten lots of scraped knees, but my hands always |
| Spend theextra bucks to get one made of the | | | | come outfeeling fine. |
| super-strong materialthat affords lots of vents to help | | | | 7. The Bike. Once I realized that biking was not only |
| keep you from over-heating. And in the case of | | | | agreat alternative to running for the sake of my joints, |
| helmets, you get what you payfor: the higher-end | | | | butit was more fun in general, I gave the clunker away. |
| helmets are easier to adjust for abetter fit. | | | | Then |
| 3. Pedals and shoes with cleats (clipless). After a bitof | | | | I invested in a good bike - lightweight frame |
| a learning curve on how to release quickly and be | | | | andcomponents, with suspension. It's a pure delight to |
| ableto lock-in going up hill, clipless becomes as | | | | rideon a well-made machine. |