I used to have back problems when I was younger. A lot of that was because of bad seating position. Being 5'5" means that a lot of chairs are set too high so my knees were below my hips when I was sitting.

Back problems are funny, I've heard all sorts of stories from fellow sufferers as to how it started. Somebody I know turned her head while eating lunch and boom !! She was off work for almost a month.

Since I live in the Great White North, I cross country ski on weekends. Good for the cardio and it gives your whole body a workout. In the fall when it gets too cold I transition from the bike by mixing it in with 10K walks.

One of my neighbours also cycles but has had 4 back surgeries done on him in the last 3 years. Since cycling is low impact he thought that it would help. What happened was that he found out last summer that he has been steadily losing bone mass and bone density as a result of not doing any load bearing exercises. Walking every other session would most likely have prevented that. I suggested that he take up cross country skiing or even roller skiing but I've haven't seen him lately to see if he's taken either of them up. Both are good off-season exercises when the weather doesn't allow to ride.

We're expecting more snow this weekend so I'm going skiing for sure tomorrow and maybe on Sunday. In the meantime, I've got a brand new 2011 Specialized SL2 Roubaix Comp in the basement just waiting to hit the road once the snow melts and the road salt gets washed away then it's on the road for at least 4 days a week mixed in with a rest day and other stuff.