Cycle or Cycles may be:

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• Cycle, motorcycle
• Cycle, bicycle
• Cycle, physics - The event of an elapsed period of oscillation
• Cycle (music)
• Cycle, computer instruction cycle
• -cycle, suffix

Sports

• Cycling, the sport of riding a bicycle
• Hitting for the cycle in baseball
• Paris-Roubaix Cycle Race.
• Tour de France

Arts

• Cycle (music): Interval cycle, cyclic form and song cycle in music. Also in music, the cycle of fifths.
• Literature cycle, e.g. The Ring Cycle (more examples there).
• Sonnet cycle (examples there).
• The Cremaster Cycle, a sequence of five films by Matthew Barney.
• The Baroque Cycle, a series of books written by Neal Stephenson.
• The Pendragon Cycle, a series of books written by Stephen R. Lawhead.
• Northern Homily Cycle, a poem from the 14th century

History

• Indiction cycle was a cycle of 15 years used to date medieval documents
• Operation Cycle during World War II.
• Dynastic cycle in Chinese political theory.
• Sexagesimal cycle in Chinese philosophy and calendar
• Cyclical patterns in history.

Culture

• Cycles, a 1968 album by Frank Sinatra.
• Cycles, a 1989 album by The Doobie Brothers.
• monomythic cycle of the hero.

Science

Astronomy

• Eclipse cycle and the Saros cycle.
• Solar cycle related to sunspots.
• solar cycle (calendar) related to days of the week in calendars.
• Full moon cycle.
• Metonic cycle in calendars.
• Sothic cycle in the ancient Egyptian calendar.
• Great year related to the precession of the equinoxes.

Biology

• Biological life cycle
• Carbon cycle
• Cell cycle
• Citric acid cycle
• Earthworm organic cycle
• Eel life cycle
• Honeybee life cycle
• Human sexual response cycle
• Lytic cycle related to viruses
• Menstrual cycle
• Nitrogen cycle
• Nutrient cycle
• Phosphorus cycle
• Reproductive cycle
• Sleep cycle
• Urea cycle

Chemistry

• A series of chemical reactions. See e.g. Citric acid cycle, Kreb's cycle, the Born Haber cycle or the Calvin cycle.
• Biogeochemical cycles such as the Ozone-oxygen cycle (see list there).
• A cyclic compound. See also alicyclic compound

Physics

• The cycle is a unit of phase angle equivalent to one oscillation, or 2π radians. It appears in the once-common frequency unit cycle per second, which has now almost completely been supplanted by the Hertz.
• Consequently, in quantum optics, a Rabi cycle is that oscillation whose rate is the Rabi frequency.
• In astrophysics, the CNO cycle is a sequence of nuclear reactions whose net effect is fusion. It is the predominant fuel reaction in stars larger than the sun.

Geology

• Water cycle
• Rock cycle

Meteorology

• Milankovitch cycles in paleo-climatology
• Rapid Update Cycle for weather forecast

Engineering

• Thermodynamic Heat engine cycle
  • Otto cycle, the Diesel cycle, the two-stroke cycle, the Miller cycle and the Atkinson cycle in cars;
  • Carnot cycle, Rankine cycle, Stirling cycle and Ericsson Cycle in heat engines;
  • Brayton cycle in a gas turbine;
  • combined cycle in power plants;
  • Refrigeration cycle
• Rocket liquid air cycle engine
  • expander cycle
  • Gas-generator cycle
  • Rocket Staged combustion cycle
  • Rocket Pressure-fed cycle

• The Nuclear fuel cycle

• Bicycle, tricycle and unicycle. See also Freight bicycle.
• Motorcycle.

Mathematics

• Cyclic permutation.
• Any permutation can be decomposed to cycles
• Cyclic group.
• Cycle (graph theory) and a Hamiltonian cycle in graph theory. See also cycle space and Floyd's cycle-finding algorithm.
• A cycle is an element of a homology class. See also Hodge cycle.
• The Limit-cycle in dynamical systems, e.g. the Lotka-Volterra cycle.
• A cycle matroid.
• A cyclic order

Computer science

• Instruction cycle in a CPU
• "Computer cycles" are also a measure of the necessary time needed to be spent by a CPU to perform a certain task. Example: "I bet that banks use a lot of cycles to process their daily account transactions". See Instructions per second, FLOPS.

Telecommunication

• Duty cycle in telecommunication.

Military science

• Boyd cycle in military strategy.

Political science

• Top cycle, a notion in voting systems.

Business

Finance

• A cash conversion cycle.
• The related notions of product life cycle management, Life cycle cost analysis, life cycle assessment and systems development life cycle.
• Virtuous circle and vicious circle.
• A business cycle, e.g. the RBC.
• A cycle count is an inventory management procedure
• The Wright Cycle Company which funded the brothers' Wright aviation experiments.

Crime

• Cycle of violence, the cycle that can happen in Domestic abuse.

Television

The show America's Next Top Model uses the word 'cycle' to mean 'season' e.g. their 1st season will be called Cycle 1, their 2nd season will be called Cycle 2, etc.

Related concepts

• List of cycles
• Periodicity

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Police officer on a bicycle

Cycling is a recreation, a sport and a means of transport across land involving the riding of bicycles, unicycles, tricycles, quadricycles and other similar human powered vehicles (HPVs).

Introduction

As a sport, cycling is governed internationally by the Union Cycliste Internationale in Switzerland (for upright bicycles) and by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (for other HPVs). Cycling for transport and touring is promoted on a European level by the European Cyclists' Federation, and regular conferences are held under the auspices of Velo City, whereas global conferences are coordinated by Velo Mondial [2].

What to get

Main article: bicycle

Dutch utility bicycle featuring rear internal hub brake, chaincase and mudguards, kickstand for parking, permanently attached dynamo-powered lamps and upswept handlebars for a more natural grip position.

World-wide, the vehicle most commonly used for transportation is a utility bicycle. Utility bicycles tend to have a more relaxed geometry, with priority given to the rider's comfort. Most come with components that make commuting by bicycle more practical, such as mudguards (also called fenders in the United States), racks (for mounting cargo bags or baskets), chainguards, kickstands, bells and generator light systems.

The two most popular types of bicycle in North America, where cycling for recreation is more common, are mountain bikes and road bicycles. They tend to have a more aggressive geometry which requires the rider to bend forward more. To reduce cost and weight, those types are usually sold without the components that make utility bicycles more practical.

The price of a new bicycle can range from US$50 (on sale) to more than US$23,000 [3]), depending primarily on the quality, type and weight (the most exotic road bicycles can weigh as little as 3.55 kg (7.8 lb) [4]). Being sized for a bike and taking it for a test ride are both recommended before making a purchase.

The drivetrain components of the bike should also be considered. A middle grade dérailleur is most likely sufficient for a beginner, although many utility bikes come equipped with hub gears. If the rider plans a significant amount of hill climbing, a triple-crank (three chainrings) front gear system may be preferred. Otherwise, the relatively lighter and less expensive double-crank (two chainrings) system may be a better selection. Many road bikes include clipless pedals to which special shoes attach via a cleat mechanism, permitting the rider to pull on the pedals as well as pushing them.

A variety of accessories may be purchased for the bicycle. These include locks, mudguards/fenders, luggage racks and pannier bags, pumps, cycling shorts, pantleg clips, cycling shoes, cycling gloves, spare inner tubes, CO₂ cartridges, water bottles and water bottle cages, puncture repair kits and tyre levers, bicycle computers, and studded tires. Riding in wet weather can be more tolerable with waterproof clothes, such as cape, jacket, trousers and overshoes. Items legally required in some jurisdictions for safety reasons include: bicycle helmets, lighting and audible signaling devices (such as a bell or horn).

What to learn

Main article: vehicular cycling

Learning to ride efficiently and safely in traffic is important for anyone who chooses to travel the public ways by bicycle. Some cyclists act like pedestrians who just happen to be on wheels while some cyclists have learned to operate their pedal vehicles vehicularly (i.e., by the rules of the road for vehicles). In the United Kingdom, most primary school children are given the opportunity to take the Cycling Proficiency Test, the intent of which is to help them travel more safely on the road. In the Netherlands, cyclists are not in general allowed on the footpaths but have to drive on special bike lanes (which there are plenty of), or on the open road. Many primary schools participate in the national road test where the children have to complete a circuit on the roads near the school individually while being observed by testers.

Types of cycling

City

Main article: utility cycling

A parking lot for bicycles in Niigata, Niigata, Japan.

Cyclists and motorists make different demands on road design which may lead to conflicts both in politics and on the streets. Some jurisdictions give priority to motorised traffic, for example setting up extensive one-way street systems, free-right turns, high capacity roundabouts, and slip roads. Other cities may apply active traffic restraint measures to limit the impact of motorised transport. In the former cases, cycling has tended to decline while in the latter it has tended to be maintained. Occasionally, extreme measures against cycling may occur. In Shanghai, a city where bicycles were once the dominant mode of transportation, bicycle travel on city roads was actually banned temporarily in December 2003.

In areas in which cycling is popular and encouraged, cycle-parking facilities using bicycle racks, lockable mini-garages, and patrolled cycle parks are used to reduce theft. Local governments also promote cycling by permitting the carriage of bicycles on public transport or by providing external attachment devices on public transport vehicles. Conversely, an absence of secure cycle-parking is a recurring complaint by cyclists from cities with low modal share of cycling.

Extensive bicycle path systems may be found in some cities. Such dedicated paths often have to be shared with in-line skaters, scooters, skateboarders, and pedestrians. Segregating bicycle and automobile traffic in cities has met with mixed success, both in terms of safety and bicycle promotion. At some point the two streams of traffic inevitably intersect, often in a haphazard and congested fashion. Studies have demonstrated that, due to the high incidence of accidents at these sites, such segregated schemes can actually increase the number of car-bike collisions.^[1]

In the Netherlands bicycle paths are widespread and are (in the cities) not allowed for scooters. Cyclists in the Netherlands are well protected as the law assumes the stronger participant (i.e. the car) to be guilty party in all accidents involving weaker traffic participants unless clear evidence of the opposite is provided. Furthermore, car drivers know to expect bikes everywhere, which are plentiful and treat traffic rules more as guidelines than as rules. Due to these issues the number of car-bike collisions with serious consequences is not alarmingly high in the Netherlands

Commercial

The postal services of many countries have long relied on bicycles. The British Royal Mail first started using bicycles in 1880; now bicycle delivery fleets include 37,000 in the UK, 25,700 in Germany, 10,500 in Hungary and 7000 in Sweden. The London Ambulance Service has recently introduced bicycling paramedics, who can often get to the scene of an incident in Central London more quickly than a motorised ambulance.

A bicycle loaded with tender coconut for sale. Karnataka, India

Police officers adopted the bicycle as well, initially using their own. However, they eventually became a standard issue, particularly for police in rural areas. The Kent police purchased 20 bicycles in 1896, and by 1904 there were 129 police bicycle patrols operating. Some countries retained the police bicycle while others dispensed with them for a time. Bicycle patrols are now enjoying a resurgence in many cities, as the mobility of car-borne officers is becoming increasingly limited by traffic congestion and pedestrianisation. They also have the advantages that the officers are inherently more open to the public, and the transport is quieter to permit a more stealthy approach toward suspects. The pursuit of suspects can also be assisted by a bicycle.

Bicycles enjoy substantial use as general delivery vehicles in many countries. In the UK and North America, generations of teenagers have got their first jobs delivering newspapers by bicycle. London has many delivery companies that use bicycles with trailers. Most cities in the West, and many outside it, support a sizable and visible industry of cycle couriers who deliver documents and small packages. In India, many of Mumbai's Dabbawalas use bicycles to deliver hot lunches to the city’s workers. In Bogotá, Colombia the city’s largest bakery recently replaced most of its delivery trucks with bicycles. Even the car industry uses bicycles. At the huge Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen, Germany workers use bicycles, colour-coded by department, to move around the factory.

Recreational

Main article: bicycle touring

In the Netherlands, bicycles are freely available for use in the Hoge Veluwe national park

Bicycles are used for recreation at all ages. Bicycle touring, also known as cyclotourism, involves touring and exploration or sightseeing by bicycle for leisure. A brevet or randonnée is an organized long-distance ride.

One popular Dutch pleasure is the enjoyment of relaxed cycling in the countryside of the Netherlands. The land is very flat and full of public bicycle trails where cyclist aren't bothered by cars and other traffic, which makes it ideal for cycling recreation. Many Dutch people subscribe every year to an event called fietsvierdaagse — four days of organised cycling through the local environment. Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), which began in 1891, is the oldest bicycling event still run on a regular basis on the open road, covers over 1200 km and imposes a 90-hour time limit. Similar if smaller institutions exist in many countries.

Organized rides

Many cycling clubs hold organized rides in which bicyclists of all levels participate. The typical organized ride starts with a large group of riders, called the mass, bunch or even peloton. This will thin out over the course of the ride. Many riders choose to ride together in groups of the same skill level to take advantage of drafting.

Most organized rides, for example Cyclosportives, Challenge Rides or reliability trials, include registration requirements and will provide information either through the mail or online concerning start times and other requirements. Rides usually consist of 25, 50 and 100 mile routes, each with a certain number of rest stops that usually include refreshments, first aid and maintenance tools.

Racing

Bicycle racing around 1909

Main article: bicycle racing

Shortly after the introduction of bicycles, competitions developed independently in many parts of the world. Early races involving boneshaker style bicycles were predictably fraught with injuries. Large races became popular during the 1890's "Golden Age of Cycling", with events across Europe, and in the U.S. and Japan as well. At one point, almost every major city in the US had a velodrome or two for track racing events. However since the middle of the 20th Century cycling has become a minority sport in the US whilst in Continental Europe it continues to be a major sport, particularly in France, Belgium and Italy. The most famous of all bicycle races is the Tour de France. This began in 1903, and continues to capture the attention of the sporting world.

As the bicycle evolved its various forms, different racing formats developed. Road races may involve both team and individual competition, and are contested in various ways. They range from the one-day road race, criterium, and time trial to multi-stage events like the Tour de France and its sister events which make up cycling's Grand Tours. Recumbent bicycles were banned from bike races in 1934 after Marcel Berthet set a new hour record in his Velodyne streamliner (49.992 km on 18 November 1933). Track bicycles are used for track racing in Velodromes , while cyclo-cross races are held on rugged outdoor terrain. In the past decade, mountain bike racing has also reached international popularity and is even an Olympic sport.

Professional racing organizations place limitations on the bicycles that can be used in the races that they sanction. For example, the Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body of international cycle sport (which sanctions races such as the Tour de France), decided in the late 1990s to create additional rules which prohibit racing bicycles weighing less than 6.8 kilograms (14.96 pounds). The UCI rules also effectively ban some bicycle frame innovations (such as the recumbent bicycle) by requiring a double triangle structure.^[2]

War

Main article: bicycle infantry

The bicycle is not suited for combat, but it has been used as a method of reconnaissance as well as transporting soldiers and supplies to combat zones. In this it has taken over many of the function of horses in warfare. Bicycles were used in the Second Boer War, where both sides used them for scouting. In World War I, France and Germany used bicycles to move troops. In its 1937 invasion of China, Japan employed some 50,000 bicycle troops, and similar forces were instrumental in Japan's march through Malaysia in World War II. Germany used bicycles again in World War II, while the British employed airborne "Cycle-commandos" with folding bikes.

In the Vietnam War, communist forces used bicycles extensively as cargo carriers along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. There are reports of mountain bicycles being used in scouting by U.S. Special Forces in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and in subsequent battles against the Taliban. British troops, designated Light Bicycle Infantry LBI, used bicycles to patrol in Basra, Iraq in January 2005.

The last country known to maintain a regiment of bicycle troops was Switzerland, who disbanded their final unit in 2003.

Activism

Two broad themes run in bicycle activism: one more overtly political with roots in the environmental movement; the other drawing on the traditions of the established bicycle lobby. Such groups promote the bicycle as an alternative mode of transport and emphasize the potential for energy and resource conservation and health benefits gained from cycling versus automobile use. Activists in both camps also argue for improved local and inter-city rail services and other methods of mass transportation, and also for greater provision for cycle carriage on such services. Many cities also have community bicycle programs that promote cycling, especially as a means of inner-city transport.

San Francisco Critical Mass, 29 April 2005.

Controversially, some bicycle activists (including some traffic management advisers) seek the construction of segregated cycle facilities for journeys of all lengths. Other activists, especially those from the more established tradition, view the safety, practicality, and intent of many segregated cycle facilities with suspicion. They favour a more holistic approach based on the 4 'E's; education (of everyone involved), encouragement (to apply the education), enforcement (to protect the rights of others), and engineering (to facilitate travel while respecting every person's equal right to do so). In some cases this opposition has a more ideological basis: some members of the Vehicular Cycling movement oppose segregated public facilities, such as on-street bike lanes, on principle. Some groups offer training courses to help cyclists integrate themselves with other traffic. This is part of the ongoing cycle path debate.

Critical Mass is a worldwide activist movement of mass bicycle protest rides. It incorporates the themes of increasing the road- and mind-share given to bicycle transport, and has drawn support from environmentally minded campaigners and other schools of political thought. According to participants in Critical Mass, "We aren't blocking traffic, we are traffic!" However, their particular forms of protest has drawn criticism from the broader streams of activism.

Midnight Ridazz is an massive established bicycle ride in Los Angeles based on recreational activism. The ride incorporates themes and ride routes designed to maximize fun and comraderie without any overt political agenda that might fracture the group of diverse riders. The one goal of Midnight Ridazz is to have fun riding a bike and thus inspire others to ride and have fun as well.

There is a long-running cycle helmet debate among activists. The most heated controversy surrounds the topic of compulsory helmet use.

Utility bicycles parked outside an academic building at Stanford University

Associations

Cyclists form associations, both for specific interests (trails development, road maintenance, urban design, racing clubs, touring clubs, etc.) and for more global goals (energy conservation, pollution reduction, promotion of fitness). Some bicycle clubs and national associations became prominent advocates for improvements to roads and highways. In the United States, the League of American Wheelmen lobbied for the improvement of roads in the last part of the 19th century, founding and leading the national Good Roads Movement. Their model for political organization, as well as the paved roads for which they argued, facilitated the growth of the bicycle's greatest rival; the automobile.

Health

Bicycles are commonly used by people seeking to improve their fitness and cardiovascular health. In this regard, bicycling is especially helpful for those with arthritis of the lower limbs and who are unable to pursue sports such as running that involve more impact to joints such as the knees. Furthermore, since cycling can be used as a form of transportation, there can be less demand for self-discipline to maintain the exercise because of the practical purpose of the activity.

Cycling while seated is a relatively non-weight bearing exercise that, like swimming, does little to promote bone density^[3]. Cycling up and out of the saddle, on the other hand, does a better job by transferring more of the rider's body weight to the legs. However, excessive cycling while standing can cause knee damage. It used to be thought that cycling while standing was less energy efficient, but recent research has proven this not to be true. There is no wasted energy from cycling while standing.^[4]

Benefits

Cycling makes use of the largest muscles in the body (the Gluteus Maximus and Quadriceps) so it is good for people who are trying to lose body fat. Exercising at low intensity is better for people who want to lose weight as the body doesn't have the chance to burn fat at high work rates and will burn glycogen instead (although the body will replace the burnt glycogen by metabolising body fat as soon as it can - see Krebs cycle).

Endurance cycling is an aerobic exercise, Sprint Cycling is an anaerobic exercise, however both types involve both forms of exercise to some degree and can improve cardiovascular health. One measure of cardiovascular health is Vo2 max.

The physical exercise gained from cycling is generally linked with increased health and well-being. According to the World Health Organisation, physical inactivity is second only to tobacco smoking as a health risk in developed countries, and this is associated with many tens of billions of dollars of healthcare costs ^[5]. The WHO's report^[6] suggests that increasing physical activity is a public health 'best buy', and that cycling is a 'highly suitable activity' for this purpose. The charity Sustrans reports that investment in cycling provision can give a 20:1 return from health and other benefits ^[7]. It has been estimated that, on average, approximately 20 life-years are gained from the health benefits of road bicycling for every life-year lost through injury ^[8].

Injuries

Cycling is not generally considered as a high-risk activity ^[9]. In the UK, casualty rates per kilometer are comparable with walking, but are higher than for car occupants. Most cycle deaths result from a collision with a car or heavy goods vehicle ^[10]. A Danish study in 2000 concluded that cycling to work was linked to a 40% reduction in mortality rate; this included all causes of death, including road deaths^[11].

Injuries can be divided into two types:

• Physical trauma (extrinsic)
• Overuse (intrinsic).

Acute physical trauma includes injuries to the head and extremities resulting from falls and collisions. Since a large percentage of the collisions between motor and pedal vehicles occur at night, bicycle lighting is required for safety when bicycling at night.

The most common cycling overuse injury occurs in the knees, affecting cyclists at all levels. These are caused by many factors:^[12]

• Incorrect bicyle fit or adjustment, particularly the saddle.
• Too many hills, or too many miles, too early in the training season.
• Poor training preparation for long touring rides.
• Selecting too high a gear. A lower gear for uphill climb protects the knees, even though your muscles are well able to handle a higher gear.

Overuse injuries, including chronic nerve damage at weight bearing locations, can occur as a result of repeatedly riding a bicycle for extended periods of time. Damage to the ulnar nerve in the palm, carpal tunnel in the wrist, the genitourinary tract ^[13] or bicycle seat neuropathy ^[14] may result from overuse.

Note that overuse is a relative term, and capacity varies greatly between individuals. Someone starting out in cycling must be careful to increase length and frequency of cycling sessions slowly, starting for example at an hour or two per day, or a hundred miles or kilometers per week. Muscular pain is a normal by-product of the training process, but joint pain and numbness are early signs of overuse injury.

Cycling has been linked to sexual impotence due to pressure on the perineum from the seat, but fitting a proper sized seat prevents this effect^{[15] [16]}. In extreme cases, Pudendal Nerve Entrapment can be a source of intractable perineal pain ^[17]. Some bicyclists with induced pudendal nerve pressure neuropathy gained relief from improvements in saddle position and riding techniques ^[18].

Riding a Recumbent bicycle or quadricycle where ergonomic principles are more closely respected will largely address these health issues, particularly those related to chronic nerve damage at weight bearing locations, simply because the body is supported in the normal sitting position.

Notes

1. ^ "Bicycling Life"
2. ^ Union Cycliste International (2003). UCI Cycling Regulations. Retrieved on 2006-08-04.
3. ^ Osteoporos Int., Low bone mineral density in highly trained male master cyclists. 2003 Aug;14(8):644-9 (PMID 12856112)
4. ^ "Sit or Stand: Tradeoffs in Efficiency?", [1], November 21, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-28.
5. ^ Overweight and Obesity: Economic Consequences. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov).
6. ^ A PHYSICALLY ACTIVE LIFE THROUGH EVERYDAY TRANSPORT. World health Organisation.
7. ^ How transport can save the NHS. sustrans.org.uk.
8. ^ British Medical Association; Mayhew Hillman, David Morgan [1992]. Cycling: Towards Health and Safety. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-286151-4. 
9. ^ COMPARATIVE RISK OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES. magma.ca.
10. ^ Cycling in Great Britain. Department of Transport.
11. ^ All-Cause Mortality Associated With Physical Activity During Leisure Time, Work, Sports, and Cycling to Work. Archives of Internal Medicine.
12. ^ "Knee Pain in Cycling: New Twist on an old Injury", BioMechanics, July/August, 1996. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.
13. ^ Eur Urol., Bicycling related urogenital disorders. 2005 Mar;47(3):277-86 (PMID 15716187)
14. ^ "Bicycle Seat Neuropathy, follow up", eMedicine, February 8, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-03-20.
15. ^ Cycle of despair. BBC News.
16. ^ Cycling linked to impotence. BBC News.
17. ^ Am J Phys Med Rehabil., Pudendal nerve entrapment as source of intractable perineal pain. 2003 Jun;82(6):479-84. (PMID 12820792)
18. ^ Clin Exp Neurol., Bicycling induced pudendal nerve pressure neuropathy. 1991;28:191-6. (PMID 1821826)

See also

Cycling Portal

General

• Bicycle
• Bicycle culture
• Clothing-optional bike rides
• Countersteering
• Cyclists
• Challenge riding
• Cycling hand signals
• Peanut butter wrench
• Road cycling
• Vehicular cycling

Sports-related cycling and fast-paced recreation

• Bike trials riding
• Bicycle racing
• BMX racing
• Bike derby
• Cross-country cycling
• Cycle speedway
• Cyclo-cross
• Cyclosportive
• Goldsprint
• Mountain biking
• Offroad cycling
• Road bicycle racing
• Spin-class
• Track cycling
• Triathlon

Utility cycling and slow recreation

• Bicycle touring
• Bicycle messenger
• Bicycle transportation engineering
• Green transport
• Icebiking
• List of cycleways
• Segregated cycle facilities
• Utility cycling

Other

• Aerobic exercise
• Exercise
• Heart rate monitor
• General fitness training

External links

• Rec.Bicycles FAQ Frequently Asked Questions (and Interesting Information)
• Ken Kifer's Bike Pages Highly regarded cycling articles by the late Ken Kifer
• 1911 Britannica Encyclopedia article about cycling
• bicycles4fun.com Bicycling For Fun and Fitness
• Cycling Training Tips Blog about training
• Cycling Research and Study Group - Brazil Cycling science

-cycle is a suffix used in two contexts - transport, and measurement.

Transport

The English suffix -cycle indicates a vehicle for transportation, but generally smaller than an automobile or truck. Alternatively, it is used to specify the number and arrangement of wheels in any vehicle. Typical is bicycle, a lightweight two wheel device powered by the rider, or a motorcycle, a two wheeled motor powered device substantially larger than a bicycle and which is not powered by the rider in normal operation. A unicycle is a one wheeled device, somewhat difficult to balance. A tricycle may refer to the wheel configuration of a vehicle of any size, including a prevalent aircraft landing gear configuration, or to a specific type of lightweight human powered vehicle. A quadracycle is usually a lightweight human powered or motor assisted pedaled vehicle.

(A motor assisted bicycle is called a moped. This word, like the device, being a combination of "motor" and "pedal".)

Measurement

-cycle is also an indication of frequency of periodicity, usually associated with an additional modifier indicating the time unit. Typically used in units such as xxx kilocycles (thousand cycles) per second, xxx megacycles (million cycles) per second, etc., where xxx is some number. The cycles per second is often implicit such as in "this station broadcasts at 680 kilocycles" - this is taken to mean "680 kilocycles per second" or 680,000 cycles per second.

The "cycles per second" is now usually expressed with the unit "hertz", named in honor of the pioneering physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz and defined as "cycles per second". Thus 88 megacycles, or correctly, 88 megacycles per second, is now expressed as 88 megahertz.