How To Ride Your Bicycle Safely

John was following his doctor’s orders. The 50-something executive was taking his daily bicycle ride to improve his health. This evening, though, he altered his routine and opted for a more scenic route along a narrow, winding, two-lane road near his home.


With no shoulders, the road left no margin for error, but, and John was hit by a motorist who was trying to pass him. In trying to prolong his life, John inadvertently cut it small.


Each year, about 500,000 people require emergency room treatment due to bicycle crashes, and about 800 people die. Approximately 75 percent of the deaths result from a head injury. Following are some simple, simple-to-follow guidelines that will keep the pleasure in biking.


Use The Proper Gear


* The proper helmet can reduce head injuries by about 85 percent. Always wear a helmet with a mark stating that it meets the Consumer Product Safety Commission standard. Select a helmet that fits snugly and sits flat on your head.


* Discard a helmet after it sustains a blow. Even a slight blow can affect impact-absorbing foam.


* Take a safety course. One organization offering courses for all ages is the League of American Bicyclists at (202) 822-1333, or their website.


* Know and obey traffic regulations, signs, signals, and markings.


* Ride a bicycle that “fits” your body and riding needs. You should be able to stand over the top tube, with the tube one or two inches below your crotch. Find a qualified salesperson to help you determine which bicycle, safety features, and accessories are best for you.


* Before riding, make sure all the parts are secure and working.


* Check your brakes before stepping onto your bicycle, and keep them properly adjusted.


* Wear bright or fluorescent clothing during the day. Be more visible by flying an orange flag from the back of your bike.


* Never wear headphones.


* Use a rearview mirror.


Take A Balanced Approach


* Find a safe place to ride. Many cities or bicycle clubs have maps of recommended routes.


* Cycle defensively. More than 70 percent of car-bicycle accidents occur at driveways or intersections. Expect a car to pull out from a side street, or turn left in front of you.


* If traffic is heavy, walk your bike across an intersection.


* Make eye contact with drivers, and signal your intentions.


* Cycle with the flow of traffic, and never against it.


* In a group, it’s best to ride single file, unless you are off the road, or on silent, secondary roads.


* Don’t carry passengers or items that interfere with your control.


* Stay alert at all times. Look out for hazardous surfaces or obstacles in your path, such as potholes, loose gravel, manhole covers, cracks, railroad tracks, or wet leaves.


* Leave at least three feet of distance when passing parked cars to avoid doors being opened.


* Be predictable. Maintain a straight line when you’re cruising.


* Stay at least three feet to the right of cars if you can. If there is a wide, clean shoulder, use it.


* Watch for pedestrians, especially kids or animals that might dart in front of you. If a dog chases you, stop, dismount, and use your bike as a shield.


* Before turning, look back, check all directions for traffic, and use hand signals.


* Avoid provocative actions that might irritate drivers.


* When in danger, shout!


* The bike will be less stable with a child in a seat. A cart towed by a bike is far safer. Plot to go slower, take turns gently, and avoid busy streets.


* Carry loads at the rear of the bike in cases designed for bicycles.


Riding After Dark


* Avoid biking at night. It is far more perilous than riding during the day. Most bicycles need to be adapted for nighttime use.


* Add the brightest lights and largest reflectors you can find to the front and rear or your bicycle.


* Wear retro-reflective clothes or material, especially on your ankles, wrists, back, and helmet. White or fluorescent are not excellent enough.


* Ride only in familiar areas. Streets with bright lighting are best.


* Always assume that a driver does not see you.

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When Does a Bicycle Ride Become a Sport?

When bicycle riding becomes a competition, then it could already be considered a sport.  And road bicycle racing is one of the most well loved sports that make use of a bicycle.  This type of bicycle sport is held on roads according to a particular area’s geography with the use of racing bicycles.  This sport involves competing riders which will start their ride all the same time where the winner will be the first one to reach the end line.  This sport is quite demanding physically.  Other variations of a road race are the individual and the team time trials.

Although the popularity of road racing is global, it is more especially so in Europe.  Some of the most active European countries which hold yearly road bicycle racing are France, Belgium, Italy, UK, Luxembourg, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.  The sport is also well loved in USA, Australia and Russia. The types of riders that join the road bicycle racing are what are referred to as the climber, the All-rounder, the Time Trialist, the Sprinter and the Domestique.

There are also several types of road bicycle racing in terms of the number of days the race will be held.  The first type is the “single-day race”.  With this race, the first person who will cross the end line upon completion of all courses prescribed will be the winner.  The race distance differs starting from only a few kilometers to as long as 200 kilometers. The courses may comprise 1 or more laps of a circuit, may run from place to place or both.  Another type is the “single-day nocturnal races” which are done to bring in a much larger crowd.  The next type of race is the “stage race” which consists of several stages (races) that will be ridden consecutively.  With this type of race, the rider with the lowest cumulative time in completing all stages of the race will be the winner.  There may also be other awards and classification as may be chose by the race coordinators such as individual stage winners, King of the Mountains winner, points classification winner, etc.  Lastly, there is the type referred to as the “ultra marathon”.  These are very long races but are only a single stage event.  It usually takes several days to end.  The “Race Across America” or RAAM is the most well-known ultra marathon there is.  It is a 3000 miles coast to coast, single stage non-stop race usually taking a week to end.

Joining these races is no simple task.  Tactics should be employed to ensure high winning potential and the body should be well-prepared to be able to endure the race.  It would be best to equip yourself with the ins and out of the race you intend to join in as well as prepare all the gears you may need.  Most importantly, have the best performing bicycle to help you in your race.

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Shimano Mountain Bike Shoes Can Help Improve Your Ride

Many new bicycle riders start off with a decent mountain bike. They wear ordinary sports clothing, and start cycling straight away. Unfortunately, they didn’t know that they can save energy and ride quicker and quicker just by making a small adjustment to their clothing – and that is by wearing mountain bike shoes such as those provided by Shimano.

Shimano is a well trusted brand in the bicycling community. They have been around for years and the engineers know all the ins and outs of bicycle engineering. They have also been able to stay on top of technology developments and managed to design some fantastic products. The Shimano pedaling system (also known as SPD) is just one such example.

Why your pedaling is so vital in your riding.

Your mountain bike, in the simplest sense, is a machine that helps to transfer power from your legs to speed on the trail. The component that is responsible for power transfer? The pedals. On normal flat pedals, most of the power that is used comes from the down stroke – i.e. you are pushing down as your pedal. Unfortunately, most of the power on the up stroke (pulling up) is lost.

So a new pedaling system is invented to overcome this problem – the clipless pedals. The clipless pedaling system is known as “clipless” because there is a need to differentiate between the new clipping system and the older toe clip system. So if you see “clipless”, it refers to the new pedaling technology.

How the clipless system works.

The pedaling system works by having special pedals and cycling shoes that are able to click together. When attached, the rider is able to transfer energy on the up stroke to the bike so small energy is lost during the process.

Clipless shoes and pedals are all about energy efficiency. Many riders swear that when they ride with clipless shoes, they can improve their overall speed by 5% or more. In other words, there is a 5% energy efficiency. If you rider small distances (e.g. 5km), a 5% reduction probably doesn’t amount to much. But, if you are joining races or running distances as long as 100km, 5% can mean a huge difference.

Note that both road and mountain bikes have bicycling shoes, but they are different in terms of design. Mountain bike shoes have recessed clips, wheres road shoes have protruding clips. Many riders who own both a mountain and road bike prefer to wear mountain bike shoes because they can also walk in them. Besides, mountain bike shoes look more normal if you are just out cycling casually with a group of friends.

For new cyclists, a excellent pedaling system is a must. With the feet attached to the pedals, new riders can get a better feel of how it is like to pedal efficiently.

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Why Jamis Mountain Bikes are a Heaven to Ride on

The challenge of building the perfect bicycle is an impractical goal, but it’s the only one that’s doing worthwhile. In Jamis Mountain Bikes, they have been at it most of their lives. CEO and President of the corporation Carine Joannou also takes care of the parent company having succeeded after her father in the year 1981.

What started as a humble local distributor of imported European bicycles and its parts in the year 1937 Jamis Mountain Bikes has grown into a national powerhouse with having global distributors all through the world. GJC is now one of the largest, oldest bicycle companies under the original possession in America.

Vice President Greg Webber is a pillar of support for Jamis Mountain Bikes being with them ever since 1979 when the Earth Cruiser rolled out for the first time. He also joined the team led by Carine when GJC bought Jamis Mountain Bikes in 1990. Their passion, leadership and commitment inspire the rest of the avid bikers at Jamis Mountain Bikes not to be satisfied by the excellent enough stuff. The entire group aims for nothing small of precision all day, even every day.

By the year 1989 Jamis Mountain Bikes rolls out the Earth Cruiser. The Cantilever Cruiser was re engineered and redesigned. This provides for an equal amount of fashion and fun spurring the movement.

They first delivered Dakar in early 1990s which was a fillet brazed, custom built, ready to race and out of the box mountain bike that turned a lot of heads. In many aspects, the 1985 Dakar crystallizes much of the Jamis Mountain Bikes design thinking that guides their work today. No gadgets, no gimmicks, no compromise, no nonsense; but just pure, genuine craftsmanship and polished performance.

The world-shattering dual-suspended Diablo was introduced by Jamis Mountain Bikes at Inter bike and was a sensation to the crowd. Monocoque frame which was designated for a Bicycling magazine 1998 award is one of the first of its kind in this industry. This frame is made of molded carbon fiber which is resin transferred through vacuum.

It was the year of carbon-fiber for the entire industry and Jamis Mountain Bikes was at the top of the heap with fresh full carbon Xenith Series road bikes. But their carbon wave didn’t stop there. The XC Expert and Dakar XC Pro featured the lightweight carbon bell-cranks and seat stays. The steel lugs which accepted carbon fiber seat stays, down tubes and seat was incorporated with the 853 Eclipse which in turn was sculpted with laser.

They introduced the all new redesigned carbon fiber Xenith Series recently and are a major hit among the stunned audiences. Years of cleansing the ride of our original frame work cumulates into quite probably the perfect balance between stiffness, comfort and the light weight. Many professional racers have claimed it as the best road for a bike race. Also they have plotted to introduce this year an all new MP3 suspension platform. The evolution of Jamis Mountain Bikes has gotten lighter, truer tracking, stiffer and more efficient making the bikes the heaven to ride on.

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47cc Pocket Bikes Make your Ride as Thrilling as Can be

What are pocket bikes?

Pocket bikes or mini motos are small, speedy, gas powered motorcycles about 47 inches long and 18 inches tall. The smaller models reach a speed up to 35 mph while the superior models can achieve up to 50 mph. Earlier, pocket bikes were specially made and were costly but with these becoming well loved, they are now more affordable. With the 47cc pocket bikes available now, you can choose among several varieties to suit your specific needs.

You can ride pocket bikes on tracks for competition or simply for fun. The sanctioning body, NAPRA was established to promote pocket bike racing and you can race on the pocket bikes with friends or in competitions. Go-kart tracks provide racetracks suited for pocket bikes.

The Different kind of Pocket Bikes with 47cc engine

There are many types of 47cc bikes to choose from. The Cagllari Daytona 47cc bikes are fantastic value for money for the amateurs. For experienced racers, The Grand Prix MX3 with CAD is wonderful. The Blade version was built for hard track conditions and rough handling.

The pocket bike that gives the highest output is the Raptor with an increased torque but speed capacity intact. The GP RS-R is the modernist version in the 47cc models. This type of the 47cc bike offers a host of characteristics only found in larger versions of 47cc bikes.

The specifications for the standard 47cc bike include:

1. 47cc engine

2. Pull start method

3. 2 stroke oil and gas fuelled

4. 1 liter fuel capacity

5. Chain drive system

6. Speed of 35mph or over

7. 250 lbs load

8. Street terrain tires

9. Front and rear disc brakes

10. 40 lbs weight

11. Steel and plastic body

The Uniqueness of the Boreem 47cc Full Fairing Pocket Bike

This bike is unique as it has all the basic features and components, which are of brilliant quality. Thus, its performance and reliability is superb. Despite this, it is inexpensive. It is really small at only 22 inches tall and weighs 43 lbs. Being small and light coupled with an extremely powerful engine it can rocket up to 40 mph.

The special features of the Boreem 47cc include:

1. 40mph speed

2. 30 mile range

3. Sturdy aluminum frame

4. Chain drive with rear wheel tension

5. Two cycle oil

6. 1.2 liters fuel tank capacity.

7. 10inch x 4.5 inch solid tires

8. 60 day warranty period.

The quality and attention devoted to all types of pocket bikes of the 47cc category is remarkable. After ordering and seeing this superior bike on arrival at your doorstep, you are sure to be impressed. The bikes are ready to use once out of the box but you are advised to follow all the safety instructions and use proper safety equipment.

You can order a 47cc bike according to your choice of style and color. After ordering, you have to wait for only about 2 working days to get this dream bike. If you spend a small extra, you can avail of the performance package that upgrades your bike to the next level. You will also be provided with free technical service for life and advice on upgrade as a part of after sales service.

So with all this information in your hand, order yourself a thrilling 47cc bike.

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