Month: August 2022

Preventing Cycling Accidents: Share the Road With Autos

Riding bicycles is plenty of fun, plus it is a great way to save money on your commute, or to get fit without spending hundreds of pounds on gym membership. Unfortunately, cyclists are subject to some frightening accidents. Here are some ways to ensure your healthy habit of riding your bicycle actually keeps you safe, instead of causing injury or death.

Watch Out For Surface Problems

Problems that stem from surfaces can vary, depending on what type of bicycle you are riding. If you are riding a road bike, stick to smooth, well paved surfaces that are free of pot holes and gravel. If you ride a mountain bike or all purpose bicycles, watch out for these same types of problems, but understand practising your riding skills can help keep you upright in the same situation that would likely knock a road bike down.

Keep Your Bicycle Well Maintained

One reason cycling is so popular is because it is such an inexpensive way to get exercise and commute to and from work. Maintain your tyres and wheels, and watch that all nuts and bolts stay tight. Ride a bike that is the right size for you, and be sure it is equipped with reflectors, lights in case you end up out during hours of darkness, and a high quality horn or bell so you can alert others to your presence. If you carry anything with your bicycle, be certain you do so properly. Keep baskets out of the way of reflectors, and don’t let anything impede your ability to break, change gear, or get off your bike quickly in case of emergency.

Share the Road with Cars

Cars, Lorries, motorcycles, and bicycles need to share the road. As a cyclist, it is up to you to follow all traffic laws. Do not run through intersections that are closed to traffic, as you place yourself at risk of being hit by oncoming traffic. Use appropriate signals to let others know which direction you are going. Make yourself highly visible, especially if you travel at dawn or dusk, or during hours of darkness – and be sure you are very visible to drivers.

Prevent yourself from being hit, since an accident involving an auto and a bicycle is almost always quite horrific. Just like people who drive cars, you should not do anything that distracts you from riding safely. Don’t chat on your mobile phone as you ride, and be sure you pay attention to everything that is happening around you.

What to Do if You Are Hit by an Automobile

Be sure you wear a helmet when you ride, and be sure it fits you properly. This is your first line of defence, and it will help you stay conscious so you know what is happening in the event you are hit by a car.

Take a good look at the car that hit you, and remember as much as you can. Recall the colour, make and model of the car, as well as the number plate. Try to get a look at the driver.

Be sure help is on the way, and convince any witnesses to stay with you until the Police and Ambulance arrive. Lastly, contact a solicitor who has experience in the area of automobile accidents involving cars and cyclists. Protect your rights by calling right away.…

The Perfect Cycling Eyewear

Cyclists should think about protecting their most delicate body parts whenever they are cycling. This is why they should procure the proper cycling apparel and gear that fits them suitably. The most exposed delicate body parts of the cyclists are the eyes. To protect their eyes, they need to get themselves their own cycling eyewear.

Cycling eyewear does not only make the cyclists look good, as they also come in various designs to cater for the needs of their clients or customers who are also interested in looking fashionable. Moreover, manufacturers actually purposely designed cycling eyewear in order to protect the cyclist’s eyes from potentially harmful agents.

There are many different kinds of cycling eyewear that can be found in the market today and cyclists oftentimes find themselves confused regarding which particular one they should be getting. It is a good thing that they can avail of cycling guides that can be found in the market in order to inform or suggest to them which ones are best for them or most suitable for their needs.

Whenever they are going to participate in a race, they have to wear eyewear that has been readily installed with photochromic lenses. This kind of lenses allows smooth transition from a low kind of light to a much brighter one, without having to require the cyclist to manually interchange the lenses. This way, cyclists get to save more time and also from further hassle.

Ideally, the kind of eyewear that cyclists should be wearing must be relatively light. Excessive pressure that is applied to the ears can make the ears feel numb as time goes by. Also, light cycling eyewear can provide appropriate ventilation, which, in turn, helps in avoiding misting on the lens when they are cycling through cold weather conditions or in cold places.

Of course, cyclists should also make sure that the pair they purchase actually feels comfortable on their heads or faces. They can determine if a pair has the ability to provide them with comfort if it has side arms that do not easily break off whenever pressure is applied to it, something that is quite common when cyclists are cycling on rough terrains.

Expert cyclists also recommend to their fellow cyclists to purchase ones that have interchangeable lenses, just in case ones with photochromic lenses are unavailable. The supply of the latter kind is usually outnumbered by the buyers as the number of cycling eyewear with photochromic lenses are running out in today’s market.…

How to Avoid Figure Competition Diet Burn Out

Are you interested in participating in a figure competition or are you currently prepping for a figure competition? Dieting to lose fat and keep your hard-earned lean muscle to enter a figure contest takes strong mental focus, as well as a well structured contest prep diet.

Often times, figure competitors set out with good intentions to diet down their body fat, yet end up cutting calories far too low, over-training, and doing far too much cardio too soon. Such costly and ill thought out decisions just leads to a total train wreck and eventually burn out.

In this article I’ll give you some tips and guidelines on how to avoid the figure competitor diet burnout.

When you start your pre-contest diet, give yourself enough time to diet down slowly. This ensures you lose body fat and not your lean muscle mass. Every figure competitor’s dieting time will vary. Some will diet for 16-20 weeks and others can get by with dieting for 12-14 weeks. Your dieting time is based on how much body fat you need to lose.

When you begin your figure competition diet, start off with enough calories to support your training and nutrition. Staring your diet with too low calories leaves you no room to lower calories when that time comes. A good starting point is to multiply your total body weight by 12 to 14 for a starting baseline diet. Once you are on your established baseline diet you can start deducting calories when needed to keep excelling fat loss.

Don’t go on a low-carb diet right out the gate. The figure competition dieting process involves a bit of skill and diet manipulation. One easy and very effective way to use food to burn fat is to cycle your carbs. The trick behind carb-cycling is you feed your body a set number of carbs every day for about 2 weeks, then take away the last carb meal and run that format for 2 weeks. Continue to remove the last carb meal every 2 weeks and watch the body fat just melt off.

Cheat girlfriend. Yep, you heard me. Take a scheduled cheat day once a week to pull your body out of the routine of strict dieting. This cheat day serves as a surplus of calories that your body isn’t use to. When your body suddenly gets this surplus of calories, it increases your metabolism and you start burning body fat again. Be careful… Far too many figure competitors tend to abuse cheat day by letting it extend into a cheat weekend. Keep your cheat day limited to just ONE DAY and it will work wonders.

These are just a few tips and tricks to prevent that all too familiar figure competition diet burnout!…

Menorca – Just the Ticket For an Active Holiday

Compared with the other Balearic Islands, a holiday to Menorca is regarded as low-key. It certainly hasn’t the wonderful scenery of Mallorca and is not as “loud” as Ibiza. However, a Menorca holiday has lots to offer and if you are looking for an active holiday, here are some of the opportunities available to you.

1. Hiking Holidays in Menorca: Ideal for hikes of various distances, it is recommend that the best points from where to start are Ferreries, Es Mercadal, Fornells, Cala Galdana and Alaior, but you need to take care as even for the experienced hiker, some routes can be unmarked although the landmarks can assist with the navigation. Be sure to have a good map with you. Menorca does not have any high mountains, but benefits from numerous wooded gorges. For hiking, the best time to be in Menorca is either March / April / May during the spring and then from October to mid-November which is during the autumn.

2. Riding Holidays in Menorca: Menorca is the island where the famous Menorcan black horses are bred and they take part in many fiestas on the island throughout the year. A popular island sport where trails are set in beautiful scenery. You will find around 20 stables available – the main ones being Menorca en Cavall in Cala Galdana who organise treks through the nearby woods. Club Hipic es Boeret in S’Algar and Rancho Allenwood near Sant Climent. All horse riding is done under the supervision of an instructor.

3. Cyling Holidays in Menorca: An excellent means of exploring the towns and resorts around Menorca, also happens to be a very popular one – cycling. You will be able to hire bicycles from several places in the main resort of Ciudadela and Mahon and the majority of the smaller resorts around the island and prices are from around 7 euros per day. Mountain bikes are probably the best option as you will find that some of the roads and tracks are very bumpy. If you are a more experienced cyclist, you may be prepared to go on longer rides and you will be spoiled for choice with the range of interesting trails available to you.

4. Beach Holidays in Menorca: As you travel around Menorca, you will come across many picturesque beaches including small intimate bays and larger beaches which can be packed during the high season. Bear in mind that not all the beaches can be reached by car and you may have to walk. Watersports are an integral part of beach life in Menorca and it is an ideal location for windsurfing and sailing [from the beginners through to the experts]. Probably the best locations for windsurfing are Punta Prima near Mahon and Cala’n Bosch near Ciudadela. Fornells is a lovely resort which is known for its sailing as well as offering surfing course [and of course sailing courses]. You will find Surf & Sail a useful organisation located in Son Xoriguer just south of Ciudadela as it organises lots of watersports for people at all levels. Head to S’Algar Aguasports in Cala d’Alcaufar where you will be able to take part in activities such a windsurfing, parasailing and water-skiing. If diving is what you are looking or, then try The Diving Centre in Cala Torret where you will be able to learn basis scuba diving, or take part in diving trips.

So if you are looking for an active holiday with lots of beautiful scenery, then a holiday to Menorca may be just right for you.…

The Importance of Cycle Shelters

Cycle shelters are ideal for those who ride their bicycles places to keep them safe and dry. As the Government encourages people to stop using their car for short journeys then riding their bike is not only healthy but it saves the environment too. If there are more cycle shelters around, there will be more riders on the road and less cars, so congestion in the UK will also be helped.

When it comes to commuting and travelling around your hometown, there are many journeys that we make where driving a car is both expensive to run and bad for the environment. It’s not just the Government that encourages us to leave the car at home and get out on your bicycle, but your wallet should too, with the dramatic rise in fuel costs of late. Riding your bike to the shops or to work will normally mean you need somewhere to park it and that’s why there is an increase in cycle shelters everywhere.

If you have a commercial property, it’s important to understand that not everyone needs a car parking space but would welcome the introduction of cycle shelters. They don’t take up much room but they provide an excellent service for those that ride their bikes. They can be locked up and kept dry from the rain as there is a polycarbonate or glass-fibre cover over where the bikes are kept.

No matter what the weather conditions are, people will ride their bicycle as it keeps them fit, it stops there being so much congestion and makes it easier to park in the city centres, workplaces and other public places. If you’re looking to buy cycle shelters to further encourage people to leave their car at home and get out on their bike then there are many different types.

From different colours, sizes, capacity and materials, cycle shelters need to be robust, look good and be adequate for the amount of people that will use them. Being made from plastic, you can move the cycle shelter around depending on where it suits you best. Many cycle shelters have clear sides so that visibility is good and this can make it safer for those leaving their bikes unattended. Of course, it’s possible to incorporate bicycle locks and anchors to fix the lock to it so that each bike can have its own space.

Whether you want to buy cycle shelters for your garden so the family can have a parking space for their bikes or you are encouraging your workplace to buy one, or you run your own business and are looking for somewhere safe for your staff to park their bikes, then you can take a look online for different cycle sheds that will suit you needs. You can choose fixed sides, lockable cycle shelters or open ones that only have a roof; it all depends on your needs.

Conclusion

As long as there are more cycle shelters in towns and cities as well as workplaces, then more people will feel compelled to ride their bikes to work and for short journeys. As fuel prices rise and more people are feeling the pinch of the recession, there are more people using their bikes to commute and therefore need somewhere to store their bicycle.…

Bike Riding In Europe – Try Out These Must-Ride Bike Tracks

European holidays were once all about catching trains or driving from town to town, but these days there is another option. Did you know that Europe is filled with cycle-friendly roads and long train tracks that have been converted into very long bicycle paths? Bike riding through Europe provides you with a different type of perspective compared to other forms of travel. You will meet more locals, you’ll take more time to enjoy where you are, and you will feel pleasantly invigorated by the regular exercise. Here are a small number of suggested bicycle tracks that you might want to work into your next trip to Europe.

1. France – Toulon to St Raphael

This old train line, that runs along the coast for 101 kilometers, has been converted into a very easy bike track. With 2 lanes and stunning views, you can stop at many towns along the way, enjoying the local food and fun. This trip is a great one for beginner riders, or cyclists who just want to relax in the sunshine.

2. Switzerland – Kandersteg to Spiez

If you want to experience the romance of breathtaking mountain and lake vistas, you should cycle from Kandersteg to Spiez. Start in the center of Kandersteg, which is a pretty mountain village, and then trek along paths and minor roads past River Kender. Take your time, go slowly and enjoy the parks, buildings and restaurants along the river. You will be amazed when you get to Lake Thun, with its crystal clear waters. This is a fairly easy ride, with gentle hills towards and away from the river and lake.

3. Italy – Florence.

A delightful river bank ride is on the Ciclopista dell’Arno in Florence. It begins near the Varlungo viaduct and is 11.7 kilometers long. At a relaxed pace you are able to take in the beauty of Florence, while taking detours into the city to view some of the world’s best art.

4. Germany – Luckenwalde.

A very long track that offers many short side trails if you want to explore further, is Flaeming-Skate in Germany. It is a custom-made skate and bike track that is about 210 kilometers long in total. This track can be found approximately 50 kilometers south of Berlin, cutting through the towns of Luckenwalde, Juterbog and Lower Flaeming. The ride takes in some spectacular scenery, including antique markets, beautiful old churches and glacial valleys, and includes the occasional beer garden en route to help quench your thirst. You can cycle around the region on one track (Rundkurs 1), or you can choose to mix and match by turning off Rundkurs 1 to another track which will take you into the centre of the region. Later, you can join up again with Rundkurs 1 if you wish.

The concept of ‘slow travel’ is one that we should all consider, as it is a worthwhile experience to immerse yourself in a country, its culture and its people. Even as this article is being written, more bike paths are being established throughout Europe. You should consider trying them the next time you travel.…

A Few Tips for Cyclists of All Levels

A Few Cycling Tips for Everyone

Whether you are thinking about just getting into cycling, or if you are already a seasoned veteran, the Internet is full of helpful resources and tips to make you a better cyclist. Below are a few tips that I have found useful over the past few years.

Beginning Tips:

Buy some cycling clothes. Don’t be embarrassed to wear cycling clothes. You may think it looks funny at first, but they are more comfortable and more efficient. Plus, no one really cares what you look like!

Braking – Down Hills. The temptation going down hills is to brake the whole way down. Instead slowly pump the brakes to slow your speed as necessary.

Skills and Techniques:

Emergency Braking. When you must brake suddenly, use two thirds front brake and one third rear brake. This will help avoid sending the bike into a slide. But be sure to shift your body weight backwards to avoid sending yourself over the bars.

Go Big Ring. On long descents, shift into your large chain ring. That way if you crash, the chain will protect your leg from the chain ring teeth.

Repair and Maintenance:

Color Code Your Tools: A simple color-coding system for tools is very helpful. It is a great time saver because it allows you to tell the size of a wrench at a glance. Colored electrical tape works very well.

Fixing a noisy chain:In a pinch, you can use lip balm or sunscreen to quiet a noisy chin.

Bikes and Gear

Steerer Tube Length. For a new bike, leave the steerer tube long and add spacers under the stem. Then you have the option to play with the stem height to find your ideal position before cutting the steerer tube.

Hide Your Info. Hide your contact information inside your handlebars, seat tube, or head tube. If your bike is ever stolen, this may help you retrieve it. A local bike shop may come across it while making repairs in the future.

Training and Fitness

Strengthen Your Core. Establish an exercise routine that includes muscles that cycling uses, and also strengthens your core. This includes your abs, obliques, back, glutes and hamstrings.

Energy Gels & Fluids. To get the most out of energy gels, be sure to drink enough fluids. Proper hydration will help the gel absorb into your system more effectively.

By always having an open mind to learn new tips and tricks, you will not only become a more seasoned cyclist, but have a much more fun and safe experience.…