Get Cycling: Resources & Opportunities
May is bike month. Are you ready to ride?
On April 8, a lively group of faculty, staff, and students gathered in the HUB for The Whole U’s cycling seminar. I’m a beginner cyclist with a lot to learn, but I sat next to someone who’s been cycling to the UW for almost 40 years! Each of us took away something new from the panel of experts.
Chris McKenzie, cardiac sonographer at UW’s Regional Heart Center, and Dr. Larry Dean, professor of Medicine/Surgery in Cardiology, kicked it off. Their love of the sport led them to start a social group. The UW Medicine Cycling Club is a recreational club for all abilities. It’s open to UW faculty, staff, and students and is volunteer-based and completely free. Currently the group is 102 members strong. Check them out if you’re interested in social rides!
These guys are really committed to cycling. Chris showed off his tattoo and license plate. It was impressive to see that level of dedication!
Up next was Rory Jack, manager of the ASUW bike shop. He shared his insight on bike maintenance. For instance, I didn’t realize it’s recommended to change your break pads every few months. Yikes, I’m overdue! The bike shop is located on the first floor of the HUB, Room 103. Stop by for free info on how to fix your bike. They also offer discounted service, safety equipment, and free classes like May-tenance: a series of four maintenance classes that starts May 5.
Then we heard from two physical therapists from Hall Health: Sarah Hanna, PT and Brenda McKenzie, MPT. They shared general guidelines for how your bike should fit with a great visual and an even better tip: If you’re able to get a doctor’s referral, schedule an appointment with Hall Health Center for a complete bike fitting!
“The best piece of information I walked away with was the degree ranges of various body positions on a bicycle. I feel that will help me a great deal when I go shopping for a bike. I also enjoyed the information Rory gave about the ASUW Bike Shop and things to check on the bike to make riding safer.” – Seminar attendee
They also passed out handouts for strengthening and stretching exercises specific for cyclists. Click here to download those exercises.
Our discount network has a lot of options to save you money and get you ready for cycling season. If there is a business that isn’t in our network that you’d like us to reach out to, please send an email. Special thanks to Recycled Cycles, one of our discount partners, for donating the two $50 certificates we gave away at the seminar.
If you’d like to try something other than traditional bicycling, look into Flywheel, one of our fitness discounters. They’re hosting a free indoor cycling workout on Sunday, May 3 in Bellevue.
The session ended with Ted Sweeney, active transportation specialist, sharing news about upcoming events. For info on this May’s Ride in the Rain event, trail/detour updates, and new program announcements, sign up for Transportation Services cycling interest list serv.
The hour seminar flew by. If you have questions that the experts weren’t able to answer at the seminar, please post them in comments below. Thank you to the speakers who shared their knowledge with us!