Bald Paul

If you see me running, be kind and distract the grizzly bear chasing me.

deacon mark

I think I have the background to give a good run down. I have been a long distance runner now in my 43 year. I am 59 started running at 17 to stay in shape for baseball as a pitcher in college. I got serious about running in that I then started racing and doing marathons. I have 12 marathons done my last though was 1997 I pretty much gave up racing as I was in seminary to be a deacon. I have always been a cyclist but only off and on as running was primary. Then as miles pilled up I started cycling much more in 2008 and backed off running as much.. My lifetime running miles at the moment are around 85,000.

I never raced on a bike too dangerous but once I got the cycling bug it was great. The bad thing was I have developed runner's dystonia that allows me to only run/walk although sometimes I do ok. This is not an injury but a neuro issue, my brain has sort forgot how run correct. It is not progressive but comes and goes.. That said cycling has been my savior for getting in a workout. I always though running and cycling were just about the same although cycling easier as such. What I have learned as I cycle much more ( had 9600 in 2020), is they are very different.

Running a hard race all out will beat you up and you cannot recover like cycling. This gets even much more apparent as we get older. A marathon will beat you up like nothing ( except crashing) will on a bike. After all of my marathons I was really sore in the quads hard to go walk down steps and even get up from a sitting position. If you run a marathon all out are done for anything much other than easy running for at least a month or more. A hard 10 mile race will not beat you up that bad but it will stop you in your tracks for awhile with anything hard.

Cycling simply does not do that much at all. One can be sore a bit if you climb or maybe at first getting acclimated but just not the pounding. I have done some very hard solo century's at near 5 hours and they do take a toll but you can keep that up just backing off to let reserves build back up. A few days at most if well trained. So in that sense I will say the running is harder. But the thing I have noticed about cycling many miles is that it will build up fatigue level in body different that running but sometimes as challenging with respect to energy level. Not in physical beating up of body but it can wear the system because of the very fact you can just keep riding pretty hard days in a row. Finally though it will hit home even those in the Tour De France realize that quickly. My fatigue level in cycling is just different and it can effect how we simply do in getting around. I noticed this year when I was doing some 900-1000 mile months that I need plenty of rest and down time. More than say a 40-45 mile week of running would do easy. You don't get beat but it can deplete and we need to watch out for this.

For me the bottom line these days is yes, I like cycling, do that primarily and run as I can. Cycling is more interesting in the equipment and all needed to ride so that can be fun. The biggest problem with cycling is that it can be very dangerous in crashing and traffic we know the stories. The other problem with cycling is that it does take longer to get the same effect as running. The moral for me is that they are really quite different aerobic training and general hobbies. They can do the same things in benefit of heart and lungs but very different body effects. There is nothing like going out and running a really nice 5 mile run hard and being done in 40-65 minutes. However it does not give the thrill and the views of riding along and seeing the beauty of the land. The thrill of a fast descend will never happen running.

For me cycling has been a blessing. I love running but generally no cure for dystonia and maybe much better off as we get older. I am retired from my civil job so cycling works well and I lost my bride 2 years ago after she battle beast cancer for 10 years. Cycling keeps me focused and allows time to think. Remember the deacon comes up with homily material on rides all the time. I say to cycle, run, walk, and whatever keeps you active. Then of course it helps if you like good beer, donuts, ice cream, and cookies.

Cyclist0108

The problem with running is that the only reason to do it is if someone is chasing you and trying to kill you.

y0x8

Riding a regular bike with a freewheel clutch is different from running by inertia.
The cool thing is that there is no inertia movement on the fixed gear, it is a non-inertia ride.
That's why riding a fixed gear is like running.
Of course, fixed gear can also be driven by inertia - this is when you put your feet on the pegs, and the pedals (connecting rods) rotate idly.
But this is not very interesting, as the ride itself on the fixed gear in inertia-free mode.

Wildwood 

is hiking a substitute for jogging?

My boots are heavier than running shoes.
My hiking gear weighs more than a tshirt, nylon shorts, jock strap, sneakers.
I can hike longer.
The scenery is prettier. Trail runners mostly watch roots & rocks.


Sometimes my gardening and yardwork takes on athletic aspects.

y0x8

don't want to run. Running will kill my old knees. I want to drive a fixed gear. This is the fusion of the iron with the body. This exercise machine has strengthened my knees and made me fitter. I still use fixed gear as a cargo carrier. This is fantastic! I'm a dead weak fat transfer on my fixed gear decent loads with a decent delivery speed. I don't want to have a free pass. I hate it.

Clyde1820

Nah. Like with cycling, some of us (me included) did running for the sheer joy of it ... hard though tough runs could be.

Clyde1820

Nowhere near the cardio, generally speaking, but I've found that good hard hikes can be highly strenuous, very challenging on more muscles than "just" running or cycling can be, and even cardio if done briskly enough.

Back in the day, out in the Western U.S. states, I made it a point to head into the wilderness at every opportunity. Hard hikes were typical. Long, fast hikes not so frequent, but even those could be stellar as well. As you say, the views can be unlike anything encountered on typical runs or rides. And the "battery recharge" aspect of being in the wilderness is certainly hard to beat.

y0x8

If I had come here on foot, I would have thrown off my flippers long ago.
You can't compare running and cycling. These are different things.

wphamilton

It's not clear what you mean by "non-inertia ride". Explain in non-physics terms?

wphamilton

For me running is much harder than cycling. Partly may be due to age, since I don't really have a recovery-zone running pace. If I'm running at all, the heart rate climbs right past. Something also seems lot harder when you can't keep it up for as long. Even when I was running over 2 hours, a long bike ride was 2-3 times the duration, so running seemed harder as a result.

Hit Factor

If running was my only option for exercise I wouldn't get any, hate it. I'm 60, and running is harder on me.

UncleG

I trashed my ankles a few times in my youth, foot issues, etc... It ended up to be very uncomfortable to even jog. Boot camp was hell. Luckily we ran in formation most of time, individually I was dead slow, and dead last. Sometimes I would question if I had even one fast twitch muscle fiber in my entire body. I'm in shape, I just absolutely hate running with a passion. I get my exertion on bicycles.

Wildwood 

For some of us it seems to be 'in the blood'.
I have spent many days in the Wilderness, rangering and for fun.
Tho' I only day hike now - closer to home.

Cougar Mt is only a western foothill (1600'+) of the Cascades, but i'm only a foothill of my former self.

y0x8

Fixed gear is a hard "blind" gear, when all the time the connecting rods with pedals are spinning.
The leg forces are directed either forward to maintain speed or backward to brake.
There is no freewheel here.
But only in the free course of the bike moves by inertia.

wphamilton

I get what you mean. You probably shouldn't use the word inertia or inertia-free to describe it, since to a purist inertia is moving both bikes.

y0x8

Many people do not understand the physics of fixed gear.
It looks like a simple transfer, but in fact it is very difficult to describe.
For example, a reverse internal mechanical link.
How energy is accumulated in the fixed gear flywheel and released back.
So to speak fixed gear recuperation.
Based on the discovery of the fixed gear recuperation phenomenon, I developed and patented in Russia a new gear with an intermediate shaft equipped with an additional pair of connecting rods.

Then I performed this shift in the bike structure and am now testing it.
This is a Fixed Gear with double speed. First speed 73.4 inches, second speed 176.8 inches.

wphamilton

Interesting. I'd say there is no flywheel energy capture though, other from than the relatively insignificant rotational inertia of the wheels and crank, and all of the energy "returned" is from the bike and rider's linear inertia.

Fixed gear is best thought of as exactly like attaching gears to the wheels, with some small energy loss due to friction and the chain. It's not really more complicated than that IMO.

Flip Flop Rider

I cannot imagine anything being easier than riding a bike. And you can control your energy output pretty much 100%

Flip Flop Rider

Love your pics as always, keep em coming please

tilsover

I can hardly run out to the garage to get my bike, but once on the bike I can get somewhere. Good riding!

takenreasy

I'm on my way to 62 and have been riding since I was five and running since I was 19. To keep it more interesting (fun?) the majority of my riding is on fixed gear and running is a constant transition to minimalist shoes. Whatever strokes your boat is my opinion.

y0x8

A bicycle has wheels.
Any wheel, no matter how big or small, is a flywheel.
And the flywheel is essentially an energy storage device, an energy accumulator.
The battery of energy can be charged and can give it back.
Where does the linear inertia of the bike and the rider come from?
Of course, from the untwisted flywheel wheel.
An example of removing energy from a wheel is a dynamo.
The mechanical energy of the flywheel is converted into electrical energy.

On fixed gear power wheel flywheel connected to the cranks - pedals hard, and Cycling with the free flow of energy in the crankset - pedals not, reverse the mechanical connection is broken due to the overrunning clutch.
Thus, the mechanical energy of the entire rider bike is always present on the fixed gear crank pedals.
In a transmission with an intermediate shaft, this energy is not even added, but multiplied.

Sorg67

This is pretty much my opinion exactly. I both run and ride since I believe that varied training is beneficial. I am working on bumping up the strength training. And I would like to add swimming.

y0x8

I wonder what attracts you to fixed gear?
Could it be that the bike rides on its own?!