5 reasons to love the bike

It’s Valentine’s Day. Chocolates. Flowers. Dinner. But our thoughts go to our bike, or bikes. They’re awesome. Here are five reasons we’re smitten with them.

Bikes keep you fit

What better way to stay fit than on two wheels? Not to trump the points to follow, but the bike takes you outside. (Let’s forget that it’s winter/trainer season for a second!) It can get the lactate building, the lungs busting, the quads screaming. There’s lots of variety too. From long endurance rides to short, sharp intervals, choose you route to better health and better riding.

Bikes make us social

What better way to connect with friends than at the coffee shop or at the trailhead? For roadies, the chatter during rollout is a prelude to the town-line sprint. Of course, that sprint needs a recap after. For the fat-tire riders, you can stop and enjoy the views along the trail in silence. But what fun is that?

Bikes are cool machines

Whether it’s a fixed-gear track bike or a full-suspension mountain bike with electronic shifting, the technology behind bikes is stunning. With that track bike, you have elegance and simplicity. With that mountain bike, you have cutting-edge tech, the latest in performance.

Bikes let you go fast

Sure, you can go faster in a car, motor boat or airplane. But the speed you build up on a bike is yours. That’s your effort propelling you along. “Oh, but going downhill is gravity doing the work,” you might say. But how did you get up there? You biked. You still earned that speed.

Bikes let you explore

There are few places you can’t go by bike. Highways, winding city streets, gravel roads, hardpack trails—a bike can take you on all these routes. You see the sights along these routes better than in a car, and you can cover them faster than by walking. It’s the perfect balance. Just like you and your bike.