(Host) A group of bicycle enthusiasts in Brattleboro has a message to cyclists getting ready to put their bikes away for the winter.
The message is, "Keep Riding."
VPR’s Susan Keese has more on a winter biking workshop scheduled for Thursday night.
(Crackling bike tire sound)
(Keese) The sound of studded snow tires on pavement comes from Phil Brubaker’s bike. The tires are one of a few adjustments year- round cyclists use for extra traction on the icy roads of winter.
(Air escaping)
(Keese) In bad weather he might also let some air out of the tires
(Brubaker) "And that will help with traction, as well. I’ll run the tire pressure way down when the roads get bad."
(Keese) Brubaker decided a year or so ago that he wouldn’t let a little winter weather keep him from cycling to work and on his daily errands.
Now he and his friend Dave Cohen, another year-round cyclist, are developing a series of biking workshops. The men are both psychotherapists.
Dave Cohen:
(Cohen) "We jokingly refer to ourselves as Cycle therapists because that’s what we’re bringing, trying to create community around it, trying to get kids on bikes."
(Keese) Brubaker says there’s plenty of evidence pointing to the benefits of daily aerobic exercise.
(Brubaker)"Even just 20 minutes a day is a huge boost to mental health in general, and for depression, which people struggle with in the winter more often, reducing stress, even just boosting your confidence."
(Keese) Cohen says people are increasingly drawn away from the natural world, by technology and a host of social factors.
(Cohen) "For us biking represents a way back to experiencing the world in a renewed way, using our bodies … for transport. And knowing the terrain, too. That’s something you don’t necessarily feel when you’re in a car."
(Keese) Brubaker says it’s also a blast.
(Brubaker) "It’s also a lot of fun to ride when it’s cold and to feel prepared."
(Keese) The workshop focuses on how to be prepared. Brubaker wears a waterproof shell over his work clothes to commute, and neoprene foot coverings that protect his shoes.
He says there’s a sort of thrill to being comfortable out of doors when the temperature plummets below zero. He thinks of it as a little adventure on his way to work.
It doesn’t take much time he says, but it makes his day.
For VPR News, I’m Susan Keese.
Note: The winter biking workshop will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at the River Garden in Brattleboro.