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| Saturdays are a rest day in general for the Spanish so they spend all of the day racing around dressed in Lycra, helmets on, in a colourful display of resistance designed to get the legs pumping and the countryside seen.
I took a few videos yesterday and placed them into a longer video about Torres Torres, a small town outside Valencia. You can see the video at the link. It has more stuff about living in Spain and buying property but you get an idea about what a Saturday ride means for the average Spanish person there. Road bikes are the main use in this type of cycling although there are many who go off road with mountain bikes or hybrids as the area around lends itself to some spectacular scenery and varied terrain |
April 26, 2009
Cycling in Spain - When the Weekend Comes
April 23, 2009
A Few Facts About Cycling. Bikes Are Really Cool
Every year of sustained bicycle use adds about 10.6 days to the average person’s lifespan, “The Environmental Paradox of Bicycling,” Karl Ulrich, University of Pennsylvania.
Did you know…
- About 70% of all car trips are less than 5 miles; the ideal distance for a bike ride and if the weather is set fair even better!
- Cycling exercises the heart better than most exercises that don’t involve getting wet. It is better than walking without the pounding of jogging.
- One can ride a bicycle almost anywhere, at any time of the year, and at low cost, just buy the right equipment to accompany your bike to keep your hands warm or conversely to slap on the suncream.
- Little or no time has to be lost, as bike travel can be used to get to work, perform errands, or enjoy the outdoor, or even all three at the same time.
- Commuting by bike reduces pollution that causes asthma and bronchitis. It also increases your lung capacity helping you to breathe more easily even if you have these problems already.
Anything else you would like to add to this list of benefits of cycling.
April 14, 2009
Static Exercise Bikes
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| If you cannot get out onto your bike for any reason but need to keep in shape then the best way to do this with similar exercise is with a static exercise bike. These come in many shapes and sizes for many different types of fitness levels from the basic pedals that you sit down while watching tv to fully blown training rigs for professional cyclists. The video presents and overview so choose the best exercise bike for yourself from the selection and get riding and get fit. |
April 13, 2009
Road Bikes and Road Trips
| Do you Like This Beast of a Machine? |
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A friend of mine has done two cross country trips in Spain on his bike, the picture above is not his bike of course. The first on the Ruta de la Plata from Gijón to Cadiz is close on 1000km. The second was on the Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela. I have asked him to post some of his experiences, tips and suggestions in here so hopefully in a few days you will have more news about cycling in Spain. First tips that come to mind is to acclimatise first because if you turn up in the middle of a sweltering summer with no training and expect to be able to knock off a quick 1000km on a touring bike with paniers in one of the most mountainous countries in Europe then you will suffer the consequences Meanwhile I have populated the page with some great eBay auctions so if you do not have an eBay account but want to get some of these bikes and related products sign up for an eBay account and bid |
April 11, 2009
What sort of bike should I buy?
Where do you want to go and what do you want to do? The art of cycling is not a simple act of making pedals go round and round at different speeds. There are many different types of cycling and all of them have requirements and different equipment is needed.
The basic part is simple, you need a bike. Bikes usually have two wheels when you visualize one. There are trikes that are three wheeled and quads with four that are much more strange contraptions. The bike is usually just one seat although the old tandem is recovering in popularity amongst couples who wish to spend some time at the weekend not looking at each other.
The what do you want to do is also important.In this introduction to the casual cyclist we will concentrate on the two wheeled versions.
If you are looking for a speedster for track cycling, which is becoming more popular again now as more velodromes are built, then there are certain manufacturers that give more confidence in their product. There is no point buying a specialized bike for the mountains and then trying to speed round the embankments of a track in a Madison event.
If you are searching for a road bike most buyers look for the weight as the determining factor as the lighter the bike the easier it is to get up the hills using the gear ratios allowed, the only thought is to actually lose some pounds quickly so as to make it even easier.
If you are looking for or want a mountain bike, then the rigid tubular structure, well sprung suspension and really thick tyres may help you avoid the nastiest falls and the inevitable broken collarbone (Yes I am bitter about it)
The occasional cyclist may well want a hybrid that allows you to cope with the hills and a bit of off road as well as getting up a head of steam on the flat roads on the way to your destination.
Whatever your decision as regards your need for a bike and the type of cycling that you want to do the benefits that you will find for your health and wellbeing are manifold. You should expect to lose weight, get a lower resting heart rate and feel fitter within yourself after the first couple of weeks of saddle soreness as your softer undercarriage gets used to the seat and the bumps. And all of the above types of cycling allow you to get into the open air and enjoy the scenery, just don’t take it too seriously to start because you will get passed at first by 60 year olds with beer bellies. They are freaks of nature and there is no explanation as to why they are so much faster than you.
