My days of running for pleasure and exercise ended when I\rmoved to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. I had been\rliving in the relatively flat Willamette River Valley where\rthere were miles of level bark running trails. Now in the\rGorge, I encountered rocky, steep trails that were torture\rto my hips and knees. It was time to find a replacement for\rrunning.

The Gorge of the Columbia River is a recreation mecca\rthat's especially attractive to mountain bike riders and\rwindsurfers. Swimming doesn't appeal to me, so I decided\rto check out mountain biking. In the end, that was among\rthe best decisions I've made, but I began with caution.\rFor one thing, I didn't know if my interest would last.\rThat's why I started by getting a low-end bike (that had\rsome serious weight problems) It was a clunker, looking\rback on it now. I also held back on investing in some of\rthe biking 'gear'. It's not that I'm cheap - it's just\rthat much of it seemed to be for hip-ness instead of\rusefulness.

However, after using a few of the items, I understood that\rwhile the gear might make you look 'cool', it also really\rdoes help you function better. Here are 7 of my favorite\rpieces that I didn't think I'd care about (back in my post-\rrunner/pre-biker days) and now I wouldn't dream of being\rwithout.

1. Padded shorts. If you mountain bike, road bike, or\rboth, make the investment in having these. Purely and\rsimply, your ride will be more comfortable.

2. Well-vented helmet. You've got to buy a helmet anyway,\rright? If you don't wear one you're crazy. Spend the\rextra bucks to get one made of the super-strong material\rthat affords lots of vents to help keep you from over-\rheating. And in the case of helmets, you get what you pay\rfor: the higher-end helmets are easier to adjust for a\rbetter fit.

3. Pedals and shoes with cleats (clipless). After a bit\rof a learning curve on how to release quickly and be able\rto lock-in going up hill, clipless becomes as automatic as\rshifting gears. You especially notice the benefits when\ryou're road-biking; you're gaining on the entire stroke\rinstead of only the downward push.

4. Hydration pack (a backpack with a water-bladder -\rCamelbak brand is an example). My first one was a gift, or\rI might never have tried one. Now I love having 100 ounces\rof water easily available, instead of that goofy move where\ryou have to reach down and get the water bottle out of the\rrack, lift your head to drink - losing sight of the trail,\rand then fumbling the water bottle back into the rack. No\rwonder I hardly ever drank enough during rides and ended up\rslightly dehydrated every time. I also appreciate that the\rpack holds my keys, cell phone, energy bar, and rain jacket.

A suggestion: You'll still want to keep a full water\rbottle on your bike. It's good defense against dogs that\rchase you. Get good at your aim and you can land a squirt\rwithout missing a stroke. It's very satisfying, and the dog\rwill run away.

5. Safety goggles - yellow. Of course, you should have\rprotection for your eyes, but I wondered about the\rnecessity of yellow or orange lenses. Seemed like poser-\rgear when I began to see them around. Then I used a pair.\rWhat difference in visibility! The yellow lenses really do\rbrighten up shady trails and they help you a lot during\rovercast or lower-light times of day.

6. Half-finger gloves. The palms are padded, so that\rfeels nice on long rides. The best part is what they do\rfor you on wipe-outs, which are bound to happen. I've\rgotten lots of scraped knees, but my hands always come out\rfeeling fine.

7. The Bike. Once I realized that biking was not only a\rgreat alternative to running for the sake of my joints, but\rit was more fun in general, I gave the clunker away. Then\rI invested in a good bike - lightweight frame and\rcomponents, with suspension. It's a pure delight to ride\ron a well-made machine.

Kathryn Mosely has written extensively on subjects related\rto cycling and fitness. She contributes to News from Acer Bike, the\rbest on-line biking information resource. Be sure to see\rall of Kathryn's articles at: http://www.acerbike.com/arch/