Livestrong

[Deanna]

I have really only seen cyclists or Lance fans wearing them. My husband has noticed that the winners of the local races he's been in have been wearing them. I guess he's more superstitious than he likes to admit as he's now wearing his to those races.

[Adventure Girl]

Originally posted by skibum
I've been trying to keep an eye out for them and I don't think I've seen a single "civilian" with one on.

How can you tell who's a "civilian" when you're out with the general public. A cyclist in street clothes usually kind of blends in...

[Deanna]

This just came across the Yahoo news--now we know who else is wearing them:

''Live Strong'' wristbands a hit among politicians, movie stars


http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug...v=ap&type=lgns

[ACG]

A friend sent me this, I thought it was interesting....

Culture Wars, on Two Wheels
By CHARLES McGRATH

Published: August 1, 2004



NE of the many differences separating John Kerry and George W. Bush is their choice of
bicycle - not an especially presidential mode of transport, one might think, except that
these are not ordinary bikes.

Mr. Kerry reportedly pedals an $8,000 Serotta Ottrott, as high-tech and skittish as a
sports car. It is made of space-age carbon tubing and comes equipped with the patented
ST rear triangle, whatever that is


Mr. Bush pumps away (often emitting low "hrrr, hrrr, hrrr" grunts, according to an
Associated Press article last week) on a $3,000 Trek Fuel 98. It, too, is made of carbon
tubing, but unlike the Kerry machine, it has shock absorbers fore and aft. That's because
it's meant to go off-road. If Mr. Kerry's bike is a Ferrari, Mr. Bush's is a Land Rover. Mr.
Kerry rides on the flat, more or less, and usually on paved surfaces.

Mr. Bush likes to ride up into the hills of his Texas ranch and then come flying down. To
put it another way, Mr. Kerry is more nearly like Greg LeMond, Mr. Bush more like Evel
Knievel.

What this says about their political philosophies is best left to the analysts and the
pundits. But a study posted recently on a New Zealand biking Web site suggests that
downhill mountain-bike riders, like Mr. Bush, score considerably higher than cross-
country riders on something called the Sensation Seeking Scale. (Road riders, like Mr.
Kerry, are comparative wussies when it comes to sensation seeking.) Downhill riders are
also more likely to drive a car too fast, and to have had a brush with the law.

Of course they also get hurt more often. According to Tim Blumenthal, the executive
director of the International Mountain Bicycling Association, "minor cuts and scratches are
pretty common in our sport."

As far as we know, Mr. Kerry has fallen only once recently, after skidding on a patch of
sand last May. On the other hand, Mr. Bush has tumbled twice in the last two months -
and that's not counting the time in June of last year he fell over the handlebars of his
father's Segway scooter, because he had forgotten to turn it on.

Mr. Blumenthal said that some of the worst mountain bike spills happen at slow speeds
and are not necessarily the result of reckless driving. "I believe the president could benefit
from an hour or two with a top mountain biker who could give him a few tips," Mr.
Blumenthal added. "They say that once you learn how to ride a bike you never forget, but
there are a few little technical things the president could probably learn."

On his most recent crash, last week, Mr. Bush executed what is known as an "endo" in
mountain bike parlance - a sort of reverse wheelie, in which the rear tire lifts in the air and
the rider sails over the front. Mr. Bush landed with the bike on top of him but was unhurt
except for a cut on his knee. The last time, in May, he scraped his face, hand and both
knees.

At least he didn't hurt his liver, a particularly vulnerable area for mountain bikers,
according to The Lancet, the medical journal, which has discovered that during a fall, the
handlebars frequently slam into the rider's right side, causing internal bleeding.

The origins of mountain biking are unrecorded. The sport probably began the first time
some nut case took a two-wheeler off the road and went careering down a too-steep hill.

The advent of the balloon tire in the 1930's made the experience less bone-shaking, but
the finer points of mountain bikes and mountain biking were not developed until the mid
-1970's, when cyclists in Marin County, Calif., began racing down Mount Tamalpais.

From the beginning the sport has manifested a certain daredevil quality, and in some
circles, it is fashionable for mountain bikers to brag about their mishaps. Many of them
are recorded on the Crash 'N' Burn message board at the mountain bike Web site
www.dirtworld.com - a remarkably upbeat catalog of road rash, concussions, and broken
legs, collarbones and teeth.

The more interesting recent posts include ones from a guy who made a wide turn onto a
highway and was smacked by a dump truck; from someone whose brakes melted during a
100K race; and from a rider who wiped out while attempting a wheelie drop off of a
loading dock.

The palm, however, goes to a fellow who slid off a curve, deposited a lot of skin on some
sharp golf ball-sized rocks and then dropped 40 feet into a river, where he found himself
in Class IV whitewater rapids. Final E.R. total: broken ankle (requiring two steel screws),
broken ribs, cracked skull, fractured wrist and missing fingernail.

Mr. Blumenthal said the crash-and-burn aspect of mountain biking is frequently
overemphasized, but admitted that a certain element of surprise is part of the sport's
appeal.

"It clears your head," he said. "In modern society, there are few opportunities to be
spontaneous or adventurous. It's not like we're going to be running from a wild boar or
anything. But in mountain biking, there's always the chance to have something go wrong.
It's fun."

[bounceswoosh]

I don't know that I like that article's characterization of mountain biking. I mean, sheesh, they choose a famous road racer to describe road biking, and they use a pretend villain to describe mtbing?

Bleh!

The article could be summarized as, "Mountain bikers are risk-seeking lunatics."

I'd say that roadies are prone to less frequent, but more severe, injuries than mountain bikers. If only because roadies go fast and have to deal with vehicles that go even faster.

Anyway ... wanna see my scars? *grin*

[emily_in_nc]

I've been wearing my wristband to work every day (I have a casual job), but I have yet to see anyone else wearing one, nor has anyone asked me about it yet. I went on a club ride this weekend but forgot to notice if anyone else was wearing one - I am sure some must have been. But yes, I'd say they are much more popular among cyclists than the general population. I love mine!

By the way, if you're thinking about getting one, go for the youth size if you have smaller wrists. It's still BIG. I can only imagine how big the adult size is!

Emily

[Pedal Wench]

It's so frustrating. Lots of non-cycling people that I work with are wearing them, and I'm still waiting for mine to come in from LAF. I know it shouldn't matter what anyone thinks, but I'm a rider! And they're not. Do they even know who Lance is and what he's accomplished - as a rider and a survivor? (My sister and mom are survivors, and I'm pretty passionate about it!)

I have the same problem with the red thread bracelets that some of Hollywood is wearing. My sister, mother, aunt and I were in Jerusalem in 2000 and a woman outside of the Wailing Wall gave us each a red thread, tied them around our wrists, said a blessing wishing us good health and strength and power, and told us to wear the threads until they came of naturally. Of course, we all wore them until they fell off. I've kept the thread and carry it with me when I travel. A few months ago, my sister found a store selling bracelets with the thread intwined in the silver. She bought them for all of us in the family, and we're all wearing them. Now I hear that Madonna, Demi, Britney and more are wearing them, suddenly followers of Kabballah. People are scuffing them, and I'm wearing one for all the right reasons.

Oh gosh - sorry. Long rant! Ooops.

[jobob]

um, are you saying that they don't deserve to be wearing one because they don't ride a bike??

- Jo.

[snapdragen]

I've seen all kinds of people wearing them - riders, non-riders, survivors, loved ones of surviors, and people like me; I wear one in honor of my best friend who did not survive. I'm willing to bet, that every person that has a band, has a story - be it themselves or someone else.

In the case of the yellow band, it is most definately not about the bike. It's about cancer - survivorship, research, outreach, and someday soon I hope, a cure.

[jobob]

Gotta love those celebrities sporting the yellow bracelet!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos.ph...enge04/image16

[Roadrunner]

I know of two bike shops here one in Fife and one in Edinburgh who are selling them singly(youth and adult). Since I got home from Paris (there were hundreds there)(sorrry!! Snapdragon) I haven't seen any. It seems to be cyclists and Tour/Lance fans that are wearing them.

[spazzdog]

Check the local bike shops...

The bike shops around here (MA & NH) are carrying them ... sold individually vs the online pkg of 10 or 100; plus online has shown 'backordered' since the Tour.

And remember, in the case of the bracelet "it's not about the bike". So by all means, buy 'em for everybody, couch potato and hard-driving jocklette alike! Cancer is an equal opportunity disease.

[Pedal Wench]

Originally posted by jobob
um, are you saying that they don't deserve to be wearing one because they don't ride a bike??

- Jo.

Oh NO!!! Not at all! I'm just saying that I'm frustrated because I believe SO strongly in the cause, and the founder, and I'm not wearing one yet! No - the more people who purchase them, support them (I added a donation to my order cause I just couldn't imagine what I would do with a hundred of the bracelets!) the better it is for the cause. Although this is a general cancer charity, you have to admit that it started and gained popularity in cycling circles first. I like to think that I'm part of that group, and I'm just frustrated that I'm still waiting for mine (which should have shipped yesterday)

[Veronica]

Rode up Diablo today with a guy from my club. On the way down I stopped because there was a rider on the side of the road. He had broken his chain. He was quite surprised that I had a chain tool and relieved because it would have been a long walk.

Anyway... he was wearing three bracelets, one for each person in his family who had cancer.

V.

[skibum]

originally posted by Veronica
Anyway... he was wearing three bracelets, one for each person in his family who had cancer.

I wear mine in honor of my three family members who had cancer, thankfully all survivors. I had thought about buying one bracelet per survivor but it seemed like overkill to wear three bracelets. But now that you mention seeing someone doing that, it doesn't sound like overkill at all... just a very symbolic tribute to those who have battled cancer.