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Bicycling Spotlight10

Bicycling and Running: How Crosstraining Can Help

Friday January 27, 2012

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I just signed myself up for a half-marathon in April.

What was I thinking?

I love riding my bike. All I've done for the past several years is ride my bike. In fact, when I tallied my physical activity for 2012, it looked something like this:

Miles biked: 3350
Miles ran: 8

But you know what? This running as proven to be a good thing for me so far.  I feel stronger, even in the early stages of training for the event.  Lingering aches that cycling may have aggravated (or at least didn't help) have gone away. And I don't run all that fast, so it makes me excited to get on the bike again so I can go zipping down the street once more.

Cross-training--doing something other than ride one's bike--can be a very good thing.  Not only does it offer a nice change from the bike routine, but working out off the bike can also make a person a stronger cyclist.

Read more: Cross Training to Improve Your Cycling

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Review: Arkel's Dolphin 48 Panniers

Tuesday January 24, 2012

Arkel Dolphin 48 pannierWhen planning a bike tour along Missouri's Katy Trail, I looked at a number of different panniers to carry my stuff. I ended up taking up a pair of Arkel's Dolphin 48 panniers, which are billed as fully waterproof bags, and big ones at that, with a capacity of 48 liters/2930 cubic inches for the pair. Arkel is known for its array of well-made products for cyclists, including a number of different bags and packs, such as the Tailrider Trunk Bag. Would the Dolphin live up to the company's reputation? Five days of bike touring and we'd have the answer.

Read the article here: Review of Arkel's Dolphin 48 Waterproof Panniers

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USA Cycling Announces 2012 Schedule of Championship Events

Monday January 23, 2012

Midwestern State University Team PursuitRoad racing, track cycling, BMX, mountain biking, collegiate championships and more. USA Cycling sanctions the championship events for all these cycling disciplines and more.

Starting with the cyclocross national championships earlier this month, 17 events in total will provide professional and amateur American cyclists of all ages with opportunities to race for the coveted Stars-and-Stripes jerseys that signify a national championship.

2012 schedule of championship events sanctioned and organized by USA Cycling.

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Grease Ninja: A Cleaner Option for Spray Lubricants

Thursday January 19, 2012

Grease Ninja bike chain lubricantIf you've ever used spray lubricant on your bike chain, you know it can be a messy proposition.  Not only is overspray on your bike frame and wheels a big problem, the simple fact is that there is a whole lot of waste with it as well.  Much of the lubricant simply sails away in the air.

We had the chance to try out a nifty device recently called the Grease Ninja that offers an ingenious design to solve both of these problems of waste and overspray.  It's basically a simple three piece set-up: a tube inserted into the nozzle of your aerosol lubricant; a block that rests on your chain and guides the spray from the tube to the exact right part; and a wire that holds the whole thing together--can, tube and block--leaving your other hand free to turn the pedals and move your chain under the concentrated spray.

If this is the sort of thing that sounds interesting to you, visit greaseninja.com to check it out.  Or click here see a video of the Grease Ninja in action. Priced at $15.00.

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