Monthly Archives: August 2009

Tips on Choosing your Tour Bike for your Next Biking Vacation

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Whether you are planning your first or your fifth biking vacation, tips pnm how to choose you new tour bike are always useful. When buying a touring bike it is always helpful to visit one of your local specialized bicycle stores and get as much advice as you can from their knowledgeable employees. The store will also offer the possibility of trying out several different sizes, heights and styles of bicycles that you can use for your biking vacation.

When going onto a biking vacation, comfort is a great factor when sitting for longer periods of time on a bicycle. You might have ridden bikes before, but maybe never than a few hours on one day. On such shorter trips you usually will not experience the problems that can occur when riding a bicycle that is not really comfortable for longer periods of time. The right tour bike for you needs to first of all be the right height for you. Even though, many bicycles are height adjustable in saddle height and handlebar height, it is important to choose a bicycle with the proper tire and frame height. The adjustments that can be made at the saddle or handle bar are minor and cannot accommodate more than a few inches either way. The right height of a bicycle can be found by plain trying it out and sitting on it. When you sit on a bicycle you need to comfortably reach the bottom but also be able to almost stretch your leg when pedaling. Important is the almost, it is not very healthy to stretch your legs all the way; the knees need to always be slightly bend.

Besides the right saddle height, you also need to figure out what kind of handle bars you feel comfortable with. There are straight, bend, extended, upward extended handlebars and with so many things on a bicycle, these are plain for the comfort of the person riding. While some people like to bend down or need to bend down for reducing wind resistance, others prefer to be as much upright on longer distances as they can and therefore prefer an upward bend elevated handlebar, which does leave the elbows in a comfortable bend.

One other major factor when buying a bike is the saddle. For different shapes behinds, there are different shaped saddles and only one or two certain saddles might be comfortable to you on a long ride. Some people like saddles cushioned, while others prefer a harder saddle. Yet again this is a personal comfort choice and most often just trying it out is what you need to do.

Touring bikes also offer many accessories, such as saddle bags for small bicycle repair tools, rear bag holders, easy reach water bottle holders and anything that can make your long vacation trip more comfortable and enjoyable.

If you are not quite sure about a bicycle, some stores will give you the opportunity to try it out for a test ride, similar to a car test ride. Also, sometimes some of the bicycle rental places might have the bicycle for rent that you are looking to buy and this way you can try the bicycle for more than just a few minutes and see if it is the right one for you. Also keep in mind when buying a tour bike that you are going to be riding it for long periods of time and that you do not just stop your cycling vacation because your behind is getting wound or plain uncomfortable. Comfort is the number one measure on long bicycle trips and can make any trip a success.

The True Ancient Chinese Secret – Biking the Great Wall of China

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Biking vacations are a great way to spend your holidays and summer vacations. Whether it is close to home or far away, a bike vacation can be fun for the whole family or for a professional bicyclist. If you truly love biking or just want something different from the ordinary a biking trip in a far away country or city might be what you are looking for. How about biking the Great Wall of China. There are many local as well as bigger traveling companies that offer biking trips on and around the Chinese wall. Besides easy to moderate level trips and tours some agencies also offer difficult tours for the skilled and trained bicyclist.

This is the true way to experience the Great Wall of China and other close to the wall located historic sites and sights. In general a good mountain bike is recommended to do these tours and can either be rented there or brought with you. Biking the Great Wall and surrounding areas gives you a fascinating ride through time. From a fast-evolving country to ancient and historic Asian architecture and beautiful scenery, a bike ride through china can offer the ultimate Chinese and Asian experience. The Great Wall of China is the symbol for the historic and rich past as well as a monument of labor and art. Sites close to the wall offer quiet villages, bustling cities, ornate temples as well as tombs.

When riding along the Wall as well a s on top of it, you will see a work of architecture that took 200 years to build, Bicycle tours at the Great Wall of China of course are not able to cover the entire stretch, but specific places and stretches that are of importance to the visitor. Most tours offered include a guide who will not only lead the way but also give information and stories about the Wall and other important places that are visited along the tour.

Travel Agencies and companies that offer these trips along the Great Wall of China usually offer the trip as a complete package, including the bicycles for rent, hotel over night bookings, a guide, in general a support vehicle, where the visitor can have his or her baggage transported to the next site and sometimes even the flights. Traveling foreign countries such as China on a bicycle gives you first hand impressions about the land and its people. From rural areas to big cities, sound, pictures and smells enter the visitors system directly and the whole picture can be taken in slowly. When visiting the Great Wall of China on a bicycle you have the opportunity to easily and fast get to sections of the wall that are not as crowded as the sites people drive up with their cars. The beauty and tranquility of the Wall is preserved for you and the other tour group members and a undistracted picture can be experienced.

Besides being a healthier vacation for you, taking a bicycle vacation is also good for the environment and a very responsible way to see a new country. For families this can be a better vacation than a cruise ship trip, where to much food, alcohol and TV as well as not moving a finger can make you unhappy and longing for more.

When looking for a bicycle vacation for you and your family, make sure bfore booking to check out the level of skill needed. Sometimes the higher the skill level, the more off-road terrain is covered and for younger family members as well as for older ones this can be a problem.

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The Many Benefits of Mountain Biking

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Mountain biking can be quite an adventure. Additionally, it is fun to do with friends and family or even as a solo activity as a way to get away from things for a while. However, there are many other benefits of mountain biking as well. Consider some of the following benefits and see how they may help you should you decide to get into mountain biking yourself.

Fun Fun Fun

First and foremost, mountain biking is a lot of fun. It is a great activity to take on with your family. If you are in a relationship, it is also a great activity to do as a couple. Whether as a couple or a family, you get the opportunity to get outside together and enjoy nature. Additionally, you get a chance to do something productive together that will strengthen your body and your relationship.

Building Up Legs

The muscles up and down your legs all benefit from mountain biking. Consider that when you ride a bike, you are getting a chance to strengthen your quad, glut, and calf muscles while also adding strength and durability to your tendons. If you go one step further and combine mountain biking with a full program at your local gym, you could really end up in great shape. The nice thing with the workout you get while mountain biking is that you do it without ever baring a load on your body.

Burn Off Fat

When you get your heart beating at about two thirds to three fourths of its maximum, you are working on fat burning. To find out what your maximum heart rate is, take 220 if you are a man or 225 if you are a woman and subtract your age.

As you mountain bike, take the time to monitor your heart rate. This can allow you to use your mountain biking as a way to burn off that unwanted fat. Simply make sure that when you ride you are pushing yourself enough to get into that fat burning range. Mountain biking is a fantastic way to do all of that while still having a good time and doing something with variety.

Get Some Cardio

The more in shape you get, the more efficiently your cardio-vascular (heart and lungs) system will operate. This efficiency means that there is better flow of blood through all parts of your body and also the speed that oxygen pumps through your system becomes more efficient as well. When you go mountain biking, you increase the fitness of your cardio-vascular system. That is because mountain biking gives your heart and lungs a good workout to a level that helps them. As you improve on the bike and continue to increase your time mountain biking, the benefits simply increase.

Big Benefit: Low Joint Stress

Perhaps the biggest advantage of mountain biking is that it is not a load-bearing exercise. This prevents you from putting a lot of stress on your joints. This lowers the risk of biking related injury (though falling over a log is another story).

As you can see, riding your bike is a great way to get multiple benefits. Get on your bike and find out all the ways that you can get in shape and enjoy your day out on the roads with your bike.