on 4/30/04 12:22 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Don't allow your kids to go out biking in the hot weather this summer. > Bicycling in hot weather is not healthy, particularly if pollution is in > the air. If they ride, they should ride slow and not get to winded. > > ... You > might want to stay inside yourself on the really hot days. If it's also > humid out, be careful of heat stress and especially heat stroke.
I agree it is prudent to avoid excessive exercise in hot weather. On the other hand, I know that such warnings, when given constantly and without the emphasis on "excessive" or "unnecessary," contribute as much as car culture as anything else. When I lived in Virginia, which has far more hellishly humid and hot summers than Madison, people would not even let their children walk or bike to school in the cool mornings because the ozone levels for later in the day might go up. So they drove them. Same for walking anywhere, actually, no matter what age -- instead of walking for 15 to 30 minutes at a leisurely pace, it was "Jump in the car and blast the air conditioner." (Then, of course, when winter rolled around and it hit 30 degrees, it was "too cold" -- but that's another story.) All those people jumping in cars did nothing to reduce the ozone levels and arguably harmed their health as much as or more than walking would have, save for a few exceptional cases. Instead of teaching children to develop good judgement and moderation, parents and weathercasters etc. taught us it was an all-or-nothing deal: "Stay inside/in cars, or the weather will kill you." I prefer prudence over prohibition. When in doubt, I'd rather err on the side of using leg power. kathryn _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
