Tips for Biking better

Piedmont, Italy

Syracuse, Italy

Tuscany, Italy

Hi Guys!

I did a little search in the net and I’ve found these info…enjoy!

How to Maintain a Bike

Bike maintenance helps you identify and resolve potentially hazardous safety problems, from loose bolts to leaking tires to faulty brakes. Moreover, prolonged neglect of your bike can lead to major, expensive repairs.

Performing routine maintenance is the best way to avoid these. The main tip: A clean bike is a happy bike.

Learn the proper way to clean a bike (hint: the pressure washer at the car wash ain’t it), and keep it clean especially after nasty muddy/dusty/wet off road rides.

1° Keep the chain cleaned and lubed (there are lots of good chain lubes, I won’t get into the religious warfare there). It’s recommended that your chain be replaced every year or 1000 miles. If you ride hard, or ride in mud and dust, you may need to replace it more frequently. If you’ve broken your chain, there may be some warp you can’t see, and the chain will eat away at the teeth of your rings, creating poor shifting and may even break while hammering up a hill or on a flat. I’ve broken many chains and it’s no fun when the power your legs once had turns into free-spinning inertia. The result usually leaves me bouncing my knee or chest off my stem/handlebar—ouch.

2° While you’re cleaning, inspect the frame and components for cust, cracks, bends, scratches, bulges etc that shouldn’t be there. Catch problems on the washing stand instead of on the trail.

3° Pay attention to your “consumables” mainly tires and chains – they wear fastest and take a lot of abuse, inspect them regularly.

4° Braking: This does not apply to disc brakes, but if your cantilevers have worn down the sides of your wheel from hours of braking, it is likely your rim has been slightly concaved. The brake pads create a channel from braking and this creates a loss in braking power. On long rides, if you’re finishing the ride on some radical downhill, the last thing you want is to have crappy breaking power. Your hands and forearms will be too tired to grab a reliable fist of brake, leaving you with a freaky forearm cramp or worse yet flying off a trail—been there.

5° Cable Cleaning: A dirty brake cable makes it harder to apply the brakes, and can keep the brakes from rebounding fully away from the rim. A dirty cable can also lead to terrible shifting and even broken shifter pods if not taken care of. There are two schools of thought about cleaning your cables. Both say to take a clean cloth and wipe the cable as clean as possible, however one says to oil the cable after cleaning. I generally follow the former. I think adding oil to the cable invites dirt and grim a nice place to live; adding oil to the cable just expedites the problem you’re tying to avoid.

How to Prepare for Adventure Hiking and What to Bring with You

# Define Your Trip Style – Does hiking in the Adirondacks or the Rockies sound like fun? Do you want to camp out at night, bunk in a rustic hut or overnight in a luxurious lodge? Would you rather walk from one European town to the next, stopping at small cafes where you can chat with locals while eating lunch? Does trekking on rough trails in third-world countries push your “gotta do it” button? Once you’ve defined your wish list it’s time to find a trip.

# Finding Your Trip – Now that you’ve dialed in on the type of hiking, trekking or walking trip that most appeals to you it’s time to find a trip. Many companies, including these offer walking and hiking trips. Talk to each company that has a trip of interest and ask what kind of shape you must be in to enjoy the experience.(On some European walking trips, cars will pick you if you decide not to walk all the way to the next town.)

What Green Tourism is and its effects on the Environment

Green tourism is a more popular form of tourism. general travel is going more green. But more expert say that the global warming is also caused by travel.

Citing green hotels, coconut oil fuel for airlines and even recyclable golf tees, executives in one of the world’s largest industries say they are urgently trying to shrink tourism’s oversized environmental footprint.

But with global travel projected to keep soaring, and those very leaders still eager to expand their own ventures, some doubt such efforts can significantly lessen global warming and other ecological woes.

“There are no simple solutions,” Anna Pollack, head of a British tourism consultancy, told a two-day conference which ended Wednesday. “Tourism is both a victim of and a contributor to climate change.”

What a Bike tour of Sicily suggested me during my last trip…

If you want to see our trip in Sicily. Please have a look below and find the attractions we visited. If you have the suggestions or practiced the same itinerary please comment below and stay tuned.

1° Arrival From Catania airport to Palazzolo Acreide, an important village on Iblei Mounts because its San Paolo and San Sebastiano Churches are included in Unesco World Heritage list.

2° From Palazzolo Acreide bike through Iblei Mounts until Cavagrande Canyon. Here the Cassibile river has created canyon and splendid waterfall where you can have a relaxing bath after hard biking.

continues here…

Guide to Tuscany Bike Vacations

From Florence to Pisa – A 8 days self guided biking in Tuscany from April to October

Program – Km 252

* Day 1: Individual arrival in Florence
* Day 2: Florence – Passo dei Pecorai 32 km
* Day 3: Passo dei Pecorai – Radda in Chianti 41 km
* Day 4: Radda in Chianti – Siena 40 km
* Day 5: Siena – Colle Val d’Elsa 41 km
* Day 6: Colle Val d’Elsa – Volterra 40 km
* Day 7: Volterra – Pontedera by bike and Pontedera – Pisa by train 58 km
* Day 8: after breakfast end of the tour

…more

The giro Italia tour by Bike in the Dolomites

In the winter there’s skiing, and the summer you can bike and hike the Dolomites. Cortina d’Ampezzo is perhaps the most famous mountain resort destination, called the “Queen of the Dolomites.” In summer, it’s a dream mountain-climbing destination as well. The Cortina Adrenaline Center will supply you with all you will need to get the adrenaline flowing:

“Adrenalin Park, Canyoning, Rafting, Kayak, Hydrospeed, Wheel Taxi Bob, Mountain Bike, Taxi Bob, Snow Rafting, Crazy sledge, Moon light sledge, Trekking with Snowshoes, Trekking with Snowshoes and sled, special events for conventions with Gymkhana,Sky race and much more.”

…more

http://bicycling.511.org/

You are the most important part of your bicycle. Your bike should be sized to fit your body proportions and should match your style of riding, your skill level and where you plan to ride. The equipment you need depends on the type of riding you plan to do, but a safety-rated helmet and a strong lock are essential. Whether your bike is new or old, its gears, chain, brakes and tires must be in good working order.  Continues…http://bicycling.511.org/aboutyourbike.htm

http://www.sbbike.org/

Want to find out what’s happening on the Web for bicyclists? Here is our list of sites to check out, with an emphasis on California and regional resources. Clicking on any site will open it in a new browser window. Jump to the area that interests you most:

• Santa Barbara County bicycling
• California bicycling advocacy
• US bicycling advocacy
• International bicycling advocacy
• Bicycling standards & planning
• Sustainable transportation
• Online periodicals about bicycling
• Bicycle commuting

http://la-bike.org/

The following presents a few guidelines for safer riding for cyclists and motorists:

• Always wear a helmet.
• Always ride in the same direction as traffic.
• Be predictable and ride in a straight line. Do not weave in and out of parked cars
• If the lane is wide enough to safely share with cars, ride to the right side. Do not try to share the lane if it is too narrow. Do not ride in broken pavement or debris at the side of the street. Take the center of the lane if necessary.
• Ride far enough in the lane around parked cars so that you will not collide with opening car doors.
• When proceeding straight through an intersection with right-turn lanes, move to the lane going straight and allow vehicles to turn right on your right side.
• When making a left turn, move to the left before completing the turn, just like a motor vehicle. If you do not feel safe doing this, ride straight and cross the street you want to turn onto. At the other side of the street, dismount and turn your bike in your desired direction, then proceed when it is safe and legal to do so.
• When riding at night, always wear light colored or reflective clothes, and use both front and taillights, as well as reflectors.

http://www.bicyclesource.com/

Choosing Bike parts and gear:

Saddles: Is Softer Better
The first impulse a newbie rider who finds a saddle uncomfortable is to replace it with a softer one. Soft seats put the force of the rider’s weight in all the wrong places, rather than the sit-bones. Big springs may look plush, but they don’t work.
Bike Suspension

Suspension has been advancing rapidly mainly because of the spread of mountain biking. Whether it is front or rear, this article describes the advantages of each different type of suspension for your bike.
Sportswear Fabric Types and Attributes

What to wear on a ride? This article describes the differences between several different fabrics. GoreTex, Dacron, Lycra, Polypro: which material will give the best performance in a given condition?
What to Bring on a Ride

A comprehensive list of what to bring on bike rides, remember it’s always the tool you don’t have that your bicycle will need. How much food you will need and how to not get lost, be ready for anything….
Frame Construction

Learn about the different ways bike companies are manufacturing their frames. Strength, weight, durability of each construction technique.

What should your new bike have? Better find out…
Testing Brake Pads

Brake pads can make a significant difference in the stopping power of your bicycle, especially mountain bikes. This test shows which pad performs best in both wet and dry conditions… read on…
Brake Performance

A paper testing the temperature rise and performance on a steep descent from using two rim brakes, only the rear rim brake, and using a coaster brake. Lots of interesting information.
Bicycle Hardware Manufacturers on the Web

Links to scores of web sites of companies that makes bikes and components for both the road and trail. One of the best cycling company hyperlink lists on the World Wide Web.