Image via Wikipedia

When the first bicycles hit the streets, they were intended to provide an alternative transportation method to walking.  Throughout the years, nearly every kid in America had to have a bike and struggled to learn to ride it.  Almost everyone remembers when they first got their training wheels taken off and made it down the driveway all on their own.  Those bikes we used to ride down the neighborhood streets have evolved into a whole new breed of machine.  Extreme sports athletes now ride BMX and mountain bikes in all sorts of terrain, pushing the bicycles to the limits.

BMX bike riding has dominated the extreme sports world as showcased in events like the X Games.  The bikes are typically crafted of extremely light metals that provide strength and stability.  Most BMX bikes are built to cruise on both paved and dirt surfaces.  During the X Games, riders participate in freestyle street courses, dirt track racing, and freestyle dirt jump competitions.  In freestyle events, the riders flip and spin the bike while in the air or perform different types of grinds on the street terrain.  Some of the participants hit gigantic ramps and fly across the course at insane heights and speeds.  A crash can be rather brutal and injuries are somewhat common.  While helmets do prevent a lot of damage, other padding doesn’t help a whole lot when gravity is pulling you out of the sky and down to the ground.

Mountain bikes have also become very popular.  Most of these bicycles are designed from very rigid lightweight metal frames.  Tires have deep treads that allow the rider to navigate some extremely diverse terrain.  Some riders casually descend mountain routes of varying difficulties while others choose to participate in extreme downhill races.  These races can be very dangerous and injuries run rampant.  Participants fly down the side of a mountain, traversing rocks and obstacles both large and small while trying to avoid trees or other dangers.  Falling down and getting hurt is always a real possibility, especially when riding over unstable terrain.  These bikes are also well suited for cruising unpaved wilderness trails as well.  Chances are you’ll reach your limit before you can push one of these well-crafted bikes to its limit.

In this day and age, no matter what type of bike you like to ride one thing is always true.  These sure aren’t your mother’s bicycles anymore.

Arturo Chuong is currently writing about sports, and travel related articles. Check out Jansport’s complete product line of luggage set, sporting, hiking, and business bags including, wheeled luggage, laptop cases, and functional luggage.

Image via Wikipedia

Bicycle is a good means of exercise and also popular sports in many countries. Earlier, when bicycle were invented and implemented for use in 19th century they were in few numbers but have now grown to billions around the world.

Image via Wikipedia

Not a single inventor but multiple people and situations helped the invention of bicycle. German Baron Karl von Drais invented the first means for human transport with two wheels, the draisine with the basic architecture in 1817.

Image via Wikipedia

Later, mechanical crank was added to the basic design of bicycle by Pierre Michaux and Pierre Lallement in 1860 and Thomas McCall, an inventor from Scotland came up with the rod-driven bicycle.

Image via Wikipedia

Slowly and gradually addition of new features and mechanics in bicycle produced the current design of bicycles with gears and other add-ons.

Image via Wikipedia

Many small inventions such as invention of ball bearings, chain-driven sprockets, paved roads, spoke-tensioned wheels etc. also helped the evolution of bicycle.

With a wide variety to choose from, here’s how to find the one that will suit you best.
So what’s mountain biking all about?

Mountain biking is an exciting sport that can lead to a lifetime of fun, fitness and adventure in the great outdoors. Vigorous riding can burn over four hundred calories an hour and is an excellent full-body workout, especially the legs and core muscles but also the arms, back and shoulders. With a mountain bike you can explore further and deeper into the back country, and once you’ve experienced the thrill of buzzing through the forest on two wheels you may never want to stop.

What do you want your bike to do?

Mountain bikes are bicycles that have evolved into off-road machines. Their common purpose is to make an enjoyable ride on varied terrain. That being said, not all mountain bikes are created equal. What will you be doing on your mountain bike? Will you be using it for transportation? Leisurely trail rides? Pushing the limits of your fitness (and sanity?) Competing in races? Some mountain bikes are good all-around rides, and some are designed for specific purposes. Read on to decide which type is best for you.

Cross Country Bikes: all-purpose, all fun

Cross country bikes are meant to be strong all-around bikes, light and agile enough to climb tough uphills and sturdy enough to make it back down. They can be either full-suspension or hardtail (only front suspension.) The full suspension models smooth out the bumps for a more comfortable, less jarring ride, but add some extra weight. Cross country bikes feature a 24 or 27-speed drivetrain for a wide variety of gears, making it possible to climb long, steep, obstacle-lined trails. Many come standard with clipless pedals which allow riders using special cleats on their shoes to snap into the pedals like a ski boot on a binding for extra pedal power. They work great for commuting and can handle road gravel, potholes, wet roads, and curbs that would make a road bike crash like a sack of bricks. They are also the weapon of choice for elite cross-country racing, like the Giant XTC ($1,150) or the full-suspension Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Carbon ($5,699.) The entry-level Giant Boulder ($350.99) gets great consumer reviews and will work fine for most beginner to intermediate trails, and the Mongoose Otero Elite is an awesome entry-level full suspension bike for $699. If you’re new to mountain biking and want a bike that is versatile, fun and affordable, check out a cross country bike.

Trail Bikes: let the games begin.

With trail bikes, getting there is half the fun. These are bikes that are built for all day rides on punishing trails. They are strong and comfortable to ride, but still light enough to pedal all day. Like cross country bikes they feature a full range of gears but sacrifice some of the light weight for stronger components, fatter tires, snappier disc brakes and plusher suspension. This makes the uphills slightly tougher but the downhills are WAY more fun. You may find yourself launching over rocks and fallen trees that you would have been forced to ride around or walk over on a cross country bike. On the road these bikes will be slower due to their big tires and squishy suspension but they will still get the job done. If all-day adventure on challenging trails is your thing, check out the Kona Dawg ($1,899) or the Santa Cruz Blur LT ($2,699.)

Freeride Bikes: Go big or go home

Question: what can bomb down impossibly steep slopes, land big vertical drops, launch over massive jumps with confidence, and still pedal out to the next destination? Answer: it’s a freeride bike! Freeride bikes are built for riders who ride the trail like it’s their own personal amusement park. They feature fat tires, disc brakes, and between six and eight inches of suspension travel to take the big hits. They usually come equipped with two front chainrings for a modest range of gears and a frame geometry that puts the rider’s weight over the rear wheel yet still allows for efficient pedaling. These bikes are the weapon of choice for chairlift-accessed bike parks. Riders can have a blast on man-made wooden ramps, teeter-totters and drop-offs, and they can inspire confidence on dirt jumps. Have your buddies tape your escapades on a hand-held digital camera and put it on youtube when you get home. In a pinch they can work for longer trail rides but the hefty weight and extra bounce make will make you sweat going up the hills. If you have access to gnarly terrain and want a bike that can handle it, a freeride bike is for you. For anything else, a freeride bike is probably overkill. If you’re up for the challenge, look at the Santa Cruz Bullit ($2,798.95,) the Kona Coilair ($1,999) or the hand-built Rocky Mountain Switch ($3,695.95)

Downhill Race Bikes: Ready, Set, Go

These are the Sherman tanks of the mountain bike world. Downhill race bikes take the big suspension, meaty tires, and laid back geometry of freeride bikes and take it one step further. These machines are built to handle the nastiest trails at the highest speeds. A well-designed downhill race bike, piloted by a competent rider, can cruise down, across or over the nastiest terrain with ease. With their super reinforced frames and heavy-duty everything they can weigh in at close to fifty pounds, so uphill pedaling is out of the question. On flat ground, the suspension bounce and super-slack frame geometry make downhill race bikes sluggish but when they are pointed downhill, it’s party time. Whereas freeride bikes are all about putting on a show, downhill bikes are all about the go on double black diamond terrain. You’ll want to look into buying a full-face helmet and body armor because downhill racing is a brutal sport. If you’re up for the challenge, check out the $2,998.95 Kona Stab, or the Santa Cruz V10, with its 10 inches of travel ($6,299.95.)

Let’s fly! Dirt Jumping Bikes

Dirt jumpers are purpose-built for clearing jumps and throwing down aerial maneuvers. They have compact frames to move around easily in the air, semi-slick tires to keep the speed up between jumps, and most come equipped with a back brake and front suspension only. If you add heavier tires and a front brake, they could do double duty as a cross country or trail bike, and they work well for shorter trips on the pavement. If you want to try dirt jumping, start small and work your way up. The pros make it look easy on bikes like the Mongoose Ritual ($699.95) and the Rocky Mountain Flow ($1,149.95.)

For the Ladies: Women’s Specific Designs

Mountain biking is an extremely physical sport, and women and men are obviously physically different, so it only makes sense that women have a bike that is designed especially for them. Women’s specific designs include anatomically correct saddles, shorter brake levers, lighter frame material, and shorter top tubes for a woman’s shorter torso. Too bad they’ll be so covered in mud you won’t be able to see the pretty colors. For a cross-country hardtail, check out the Rocky Mountain Vertex Ladies edition, for $1,7995, and the full-suspension cross country Santa Cruz Juliana, for $1,798.95.

A Mountain Bike Costs How Much?

You can be forgiven for having a case of sticker shock when you shop for new mountain bikes. The prices listed here are the standard, non-sale price for brand new model year bikes. If you look around in bike shops or online you can find great brand-new mountain bikes on sale for much less than the sticker price. You can also find excellent deals on used mountain bikes on internet bulletin boards or in bike shops that carry used bikes. You’ll also see mountain bikes that look a lot like the high-dollar bikes described above in discount stores. Don’t be fooled!

These are heavy, cheap imitations of the real thing, and although they may work fine for cruising around town, if you take them on the trail you may not make it back alive. If I’m flying down a rocky trail at high speed I want to know I have a top-quality bike underneath me, not a cheap imitation. If you can’t find exactly what you want, don’t worry. All mountain bikes are completely customizable. Every part on a bike can be switched out so you can get the setup that works best for you.

So there you have it! Pick the style of bike that works best for you, and I’ll see you out on the trail. Just don’t try to keep up with me…

It all started with setting a definite goal. The goal was “From Porto to Fátima in just one day” and we never ever changed that goal. The second definitive decision was the day, 30 th of June no matter if it’s raining or snowing. Finally we had a simple non definitive plan just too see how things were going to be.

Before the Big Day

We trained as hard as we could every single day, with sun and rain, tired and untired, day and sometimes night. I used to ride more than 100 km every single day for two weeks before the event.

We made a simple plan about the speed we were going to need to reach our destination.

We didn’t know it was exactly 250 km so we planned for between 200 and 250 km. We could only ride at a max average of 25 km so we expected 14 hours of total time with stops and 10-12 hours of riding. We planned to stop 5 minutes every hour to rest and we planned to drink 50 cl of water every hour and to eat something too.

We were leaving at 5 am in the morning so we had to go to bed earlier the night before.

Finally we would need one car to support us with food, drinks and one extra bike and all the parts we might need along the way such as an extra tire and oil and brakes.

We stopped training 2 days before the event.

On The Big Day

We went to bed at 9 pm to sleep so we could sleep at least 7 hours. What happened? I slept 2 hours and my uncle just 1 hour! We were exausted before the race because of stress and hard train. This was the first big success threat. Did we let that tear us down and make us quit? Not at all! Is was even another reason to race and to show the city we were as tough as steel!

So with only two hours of sleep and dark night at 5:30 am we started the ride. We planned not to ride faster tha the average speed we would need to save all the energy we could. It was night and very cold!

We didn’t know the road to get there, we only had an “idea” about how to get there, we had to follow directions and trust we would make the right choice because one error ensures failure is inevitable.

The support car left the city only at 8:30 and we were meeting somewhere in the middle of the course at 10:30 am, this another big success threat because with no water and food we would not last much.

With 80 km on the legs and knees the pain started and it started soon and fast! We were not tired, not at all, we were in pain.

We rode through the rain about one hour, after riding in the dark and were riding in the rain, another success threat. My bike speedo was all wet and I hardly could see the numbers. We were wet and cold but did we stop? Nah!

At 11 am we were lost. Nobody could tell us which road was the correct one and no direction to the place, did we stop? We choose one road and expected the best.

With more than 100 km on the legs we had to stop for lunch. Around 12 am we stopped one hour to lunch and to rest. I was so tired that I fell asleep about 15-20 minutes.

After that it was time to go through Coimbra.

The city was being completely changed due to traffic jams. The entire city was watching the workers working. We had to cross the entire city without knowing which road to take, we asked one old citizen and another one which road to ake but nobody knew. When we told them we were from Porto and heading to Fatima they all started laughing. It was impossible, at least for them.

After reaching a spot we knew very well, it was a city symbol called “Portugal dos Pequeninos.

We headed for the right place. We already had about 160 km on the legs and a lot of pain on the back as well.

We never saw one sign saying Fatima, we always followed the road to the nearest place.

Around the kilometer 180 we started slowing down and stopping more often. We were completely exhausted because of stress and weather conditions. Rain then hot and sunny then cold and raining again and then like a desert.

One hour later we achieved 200 km and the road seemed like a downhill so one big advantaged to our side.

In the kilometer 210 we saw one sign “Fatima”! We were in the right direction, all exhausted but in the right direction! Thank god we managed to ride so far!

Little did we know that the last 30km would be the worst of all. We had to climb 30 km! Up all the time. Sometimes we considered stopping for a while to rest and to recover some energy. I don’t know if you ride a lot but there is a time when you stop and you still feel tired and stopping for a long time doesn’t help at all!

We had an average speed of 23 kmh in the Speedo and riding the up hill at 15 kmh so we still would have to ride more than one hour and thirty minutes (ouch).

We jumped of happiness when we started to see the count down sign. “Fatima 13 km” then “Fatima 10 km” and so on.

When we finally reached the city we couldn’t be happier! We DID IT!

Truths about success: It’s never guaranteed, everything is against you even the weather, conditions will never be right, you will always have unexpected situations, a lot of pain and critics as well, nobody will help you as nobody cares…, you will need to keep your eyes on the goal and more important, you need to keep your eyes on your goal measurement system which was the Speedo in this particular case, you will need a backup plan such as an extra bike just in case. Finally you will feel AMAZING as soon as you reach the goal! You will even jump of happiness!

“Necessity is the mother of all invention,” as the saying goes. Cubans, of all ages, wait hours for irregular bus service. Just for the chance and a hope to find a place to hang on on the gravely overcrowded buses. In many cases walking to and fro is much more less time consuming.

Enter the illegal Riquimbilis, Chinese bicycles with no gear reduction. Each motorized bike unique to each of its makers resourcefulness. Made out of any motor powerful enough to propel the bike. Many are made out of chainsaw motors, water pumps, electric generators, fumigator motors, and the most popular power boosters from old soviets tanks. The fuel tanks are often made of discarded plastic soda bottles.

Riquimbilis are used to transport not only people but smaller items such as groceries and other personal needs. These bikes have been estimated to exceed 65 miles an hour. Many riders have the scars to prove the prowess of the motorized bicycles. As one might image, racing has become a hot pursuit with many of the owners of Riquimbilis.

1996 American cars from the 1940’s and 50’s reappeared on the scene, now grafted with diesel engines. These special taxis cover important routes within the Capital, and can carry up to six passengers. Fare is 10 Cuban pesos. It is now commonplace to see one of the old luxurious Cadillacs imported by local bourgeoisie, limping along an avenue, and contributing to pollution by emitting a large column of black smoke from its exhaust.

In the era of circa 1920 through 1950 Cuba was a tourist trap and resort for many Americans. During prohibition many Americans escaped regularly to Cuba, where drinking alcohol was legal. Baseballs, Babe Ruth, was known to frequent Cuba during the off season to participate in his other sport; drinking mass quantities of alcohol.

Sanctions were imposed on Fidel’s government by the U.S. And are still ongoing to some extent. Since the 1990’s, major European countries and Canada have been trading with Cuba and have helped to slightly build the economy up. The majority of Cuban people are poor.

There are few jobs but people have other important aspects to their lives;  music for example. Music plays a big part in Cuban culture and it is common to hear live music echoing through the streets.

Music plays an integral part of the Cuban culture, however, there is a louder noise coming through the streets of Cuba, the riquimbili. The riquimbilis often quite noisy due to the assorted motors used. But at over 120 miles per gallon, many Cubans have figured out a cheap way to travel Cuba.

A special thanks for eDJ from motorbicycling.com/ for bringing riquimbiliis to our attention.

Physiologically speaking, Lance Armstrong is built for endurance cycling. His VO2 max, a measure of the body’s ability to transport and use oxygen for aerobic respiration, was approximated at 84 mL/kg/min. An average male would have a VO2 max around 40mL/kg/min. Yet, other endurance athletes also have VO2 max measurements comparable to that of Lance Armstrong.

Cardiovascular fitness is, in part, contingent upon the ability of the heart to maintain an adequate output to meet the metabolic needs of respiring muscles. It is therefore likely that the source of Lance Armstrong’s fitness may be his heart. In the 1930’s, a Chinese doctor named Tung observed X-rays taken of 46 rickshaw pullers. He noted that the heart size of these rickshaw pullers was bigger than that of the general public. This process is known as “hypertrophy” and reflects an increase in the bulk of muscle fibres of the left ventricle in response to chronic exertional demands on the heart.

As studies by Edward F. Coyle have shown, Lance Armstrong does indeed have a heart with a hypertrophied left ventricle. This is evinced by a resting heart rate of 33 beats per minute. His maximum heart rate is just over 200 beats per minute, allowing him to maintain a huge cardiac output to his muscular legs.

However, it is not solely the size of Lance Armstrong’s heart which makes him the world class athlete he is. Dr. Coyle also postulates that the molecular make-up of his heart may be different to yours or mine. He hypothesises that Lance Armstrong’s muscles have a higher percentage of Type 1 muscle fibres which have a different type of a myosin (a molecule responsible for muscle contraction). This altered myosin imparts more efficient respiration in which more chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis can be converted into kinetic energy for power production.

The great thing is that you and me can also get bigger hearts and increased type 1 muscle fibre percentages by regular, hard cardiovascular training. Of course the psychological strain of such arduous training is hard to comprehend, making Lance Armstrong’s feat all the more momentous.