Take pleasure in The Advantages of Train However Keep Secure – BionicOldGuy

A few days in the past, fellow blogger Tony posted this: Most types of train are overwhelmingly protected – however don’t ignore the risks. Thanks, Tony. It’s primarily based on an attention-grabbing research just lately revealed within the journal Harm Prevention [1]. By analyzing accident statistics in England and Wales within the interval 2012-2017, they got here up with damage charges for numerous exercise-related actions. Biking had an damage fee of two.8 per 100,000 outings, whereas strolling had 0.03 per 100,000, and health actions (e.g. fitness center participation) had 0.21 per 100,000. All of those are comparatively low, I’m solely more likely to get injured about as soon as each 33,000 rides, and it may be argued that the well being advantages of the exercise outweigh the damage threat. However word that biking had 100 instances the damage fee of strolling. So it is smart to do no matter attainable to reduce the dangers. That is very true in my case, as within the few years I’ve been scripting this log, I’ve accrued the train advantages of many hours of exercise. However I’ve additionally: damaged a collarbone in a motorcycle crash, ripped my rotator cuff in a mountaineering fall, and needed to go to the hospital for a head trauma (fortunately not too extreme).

For biking, listed here are some apparent security measures:

1. Accident threat greater at night time than through the day, so if attainable keep away from using at night time, in any other case have good lighting and vivid reflective clothes.
2. Accident threat is greater at busy roads on rush hour. Using at these instances could also be unavoidable for bike commuting, but it surely helps to seek out alternate routes on quieter roads. Again within the late Nineteen Seventies I used to be commuting from Mountain View Ca to Palo Alto. Palo Alto is now thought of a bike-friendly metropolis however was significantly much less so again then. I bear in mind my route went midway on Central Expressway, which had a pleasant bike lane, however then became Alma Ave, a busy avenue with no bike lane and a slender shoulder. I shortly mapped out a route that prevented Alma Ave through the use of quieter streets, in any other case I won’t be right here to put in writing this weblog.

I used to be already doing measures like these and others like holding my bike well-maintained. My latest accident brought about me to rethink what I might need executed otherwise, and I got here up with: Use fatter tires. The bike I crashed on is taken into account a “gravel bike” and may have been sure-footed on the highway I used to be on. It got here with 32 mm broad tires, and once they wore out I changed them with 25 mm to be sooner. Security first! I’ll be placing 32s again on the bike quickly. I’ve additionally at all times prided myself on being a “fearless descender”. Because the crash occurred on a downhill flip, I feel it’s time to slightly take delight in being a “cautious descender”.

References

1. Davies M, Lawrence T, Edwards A, et al, “Sport-related main trauma incidence in younger folks and adults in England and Wales: a nationwide registry-based research”, Harm Prevention Revealed On-line First: 24 October 2023. doi: 10.1136/ip-2023-044887.