IS IT RATIONAL to ride a bike? This question came to mind as Steven Pinker, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard University, published his latest book, Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters.
"Given the value you put on your life and the fact that there's even a very small probability of getting killed," Pinker asks, "does it outweigh the pleasure and health benefits from continuing to ride?" Pinker has been thinking deeply about bikes for as long as he's been riding them. When he was a kid, for example, he couldn't comprehend how people remained upright while cycling. Credit your brain's relationship with Newton's first law of motion: "With the right feedback loop involving the brain and the bike, any tendency to fall over can be compensated by steering the bike in the same direction as the bike is falling," he says.
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GEAR FOR THE AGES
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A RACE LIKE NO OTHER
IN KENYA'S MAASAI MARA, KNOWN MORE FOR SAFARIS THAN CYCLING, THE MIGRATION GRAVEL RACE CHALLENGES RIDERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD THE WORLD WHILE FORGING A FUTURE FOR BIKE RACING IN AFRICA.
WAR ON WHEELS
IF YOU GO FOR A RIDE IN CAPE TOWN AT THE WRONG TIME, YOU COULD FIND YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF A CYCLING GANG WAR, WHERE THE WEAPONS OF CHOICE ARE STRAVA RECORDS AND SALTY COMMENTS ON INSTAGRAM. THIS IS THE TALE OF THREE RIVAL ROADIE CREWS AND A REMINDER THAT CYCLING IS A SPORT BEST TAKEN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOUR.
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THE SECRET TO MAKING A COMEBACK? JUST START
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DEAR MARK CAVENDISH
WHEN I FIRST STARTED FOLLOWING professional road cycling around 2014, you were at the top of your game.
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POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO IS one of the most telling metrics in cycling - and thanks to indoor trainers, many more cyclists are now familiar with it. Right now it's never been easier to calculate your power-to-weight ratio and use it to improve your performance.
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A FEW YEARS AGO, my wife and I along with her parents, brother and his wife-cycled down the Danube River in Europe.
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TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU COOLER AND RIDING STRONGER... NO MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE.
