Whether you are an avid cyclist, or just like to take an occasional jaunt on your bike, your knee aches and pains when cycling can cause you to “put on the brakes”, if you know what we mean… Cycling is a great form of exercise; considered by many individuals to be a great way to stay in shape. Unfortunately, it can quickly become an unpleasant chore if your knees are sore. The pain problems may start while you are riding, or it may not occur until after the ride is through. Moreover, it can last anywhere from a few minutes to hours on end. Rest may help, but can certainly infringe on your desire to cycle. Some cyclists ice their knees after they dismount their bikes, and this may also help reduce the pain. But, if your knee pain happens when you bike, you already know it is not exactly practical to ride around with ice bags strapped to your legs? Over the counter pain medications (such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen) may also help reduce the knee aches when cycling, but they may offer only a temporary fix. – Speak with your physician before using any medications. So, if you experience knee ache when cycling, aside from the temporary solutions listed above, and aside from giving up the sport entirely, what options do you have? The solution to the dilemma of your knee aches may be something as simple and affordable as a knee brace. You should seriously take a moment to think about this knee pain relief option. Knee supports can help reduce your knee pain because of the meaningful support that they provide, and they are not super expensive either. Nor do they have to be cumbersome and heavy. Positives to say the least… If you experience discomfort in your knees when cycling, whether it is consistent, or whether it comes and goes, you should always seek the advice of a qualified physician to determine the cause of the pain. Knee pain problems when biking can come from many different causes. Most likely, though, it is caused either by inflammation within the knee join, or wear and tear on the knee cap and/or the cartilage disc underlying the knee cap (such as found with chondromalacia patella). Meniscus tears can also be at the root of your current pain issues. There are a host of other, possible causes of discomfort when cycling and only a qualified professional can properly diagnose the cause of your particular symptoms. Still, whatever the cause of the symptoms, a brace can help alleviate the ache when cycling. A support is designed to cradle the knee, fitting snugly around your leg. This will help to relieve the stress on the joint that may cause your knee ache when cycling. Moreover, the knee brace can help keep the patella in its proper place as it tracks over the joint during activity. When the knee is properly positioned, and the excess stress is taken off the joint itself, the inflammation often associated with knee ache when cycling can also be reduced, thus helping to reduce the achy sensations that have been slowing you down. Knee supports come in several different styles and sizes, to fit your personal support needs. Most great knee supports are not custom made anymore, and are typically very affordable, especially if you search online for them. All are designed to offer mobility and added support to help keep you cycling. In the end, you are the one that has to live with the knee pain if you do not become proactive. Hopefully it will disappear by itself, but when it does not, you should consider a knee support because it is a low cost option that you can use right away to help stabilize your knee.

As a teacher with 21 years of experience, I can honestly say that travel is the best education any child could ever receive. Many people feel that children are better off sitting in a classroom, but I believe getting out to see and experience the world is the best way to learn.

There about a million reasons why travel in general is good for kids, and a million more why traveling on bicycle is even better! Here are some reasons why I believe travel (by bike) is great for kids and parents!

* Determination. One of the most important skills for people today is the idea of sticking with a task even though it may be hard. Our children have learned that task when they try to climb a tough hill or battle fierce headwinds. They’ve learned that by taking baby steps they can reach their goal – it may take a while, but they’ll get there!

* Some days are not so nice. In life, some days are not all we want them to be, but we plod through. On our journey, some days are cold or rainy or snowy or blistering hot – but we push on knowing that MOST days are nice. Isn’t that how life is?

* Earth holds no boundaries. If a child can ride his bike across the state, country, or world, is there anything he can’t do?

* Religion, color, or language does not define a person. When children play with others from various cultures, they discover humanity’s similarities rather than focusing on the differences.

* Unplugged. Kid’s today spend way too much time in front of idiot boxes of various sorts. Getting out on the bike and into Mother Nature provides all kinds of other playthings.

* Creativity. On the bike, you can’t carry a lot of toys. Children learn to be creative with what they find – rocks, sticks, pine cones, berries…

* Learning in context. We all know how hard it is to learn a bunch of random facts and figures when we don’t have the context to place them in our minds. Travel can provide that context so the learning means that much more.

* Active. In today’s world of overweight children, getting out on the bike may be the best gift you could give your child.

Looking for tips and advice on bicycling with children, then visit www.familyonbikes.org to find the advice on family travel and how you can get out in the world too.

The Wonder of Cycling

Is cycling when you have two skinny wheels, form a peleton and screech around corners? Do you think you know more of what you’re doing with all that metal and rubber? Or is it the clothes that make the cyclist? Do you look faster with all the latest spandex shorts? And what about those jerseys — is that Lance Armstrong on your sleeve? Do you look more like a contender? Tour de France here you come! Or are you only a true blue cyclist if you tour the countryside a 100 days a year? Or is cycling jumping on the cruiser to fetch a quart of milk at the corner store? Is it racing down hills braking as little as possible? Or is it meandering thru the countryside on a tandem?

Cycling is all of the above. Any kind of biking is cycling and well worth your while and effort. You just may need a particular type of bike for thoroughly doing it well. You choose to bike, no matter how hard or how far, because you want to continually enjoy that sense of freedom you first experienced as a kid, when your parents let go of the training wheels.

Today you bike for many reasons and perhaps you cycle many styles. Let’s examine you, the racer. You want the road bike ’cause you’re a ‘wanabe…wanabe’ a racer, a winner! You wish you were sleek, fast, and the ultimate hill climber. Maybe you already are! You pump your wheels just above the max. You meet your group. Helmet on! Derailleur checked for the third time. Odometer on! Go! You alternate with the riders back and forth. Soon the peleton forms. And on you go like a rhythmic machine! Leader, ender – full lungs, take a breather; maybe win the glory, the winner.

There’s no better weigh to experience the rhymic flow of movement of you and the bike; to move the body forward and become one with the bike than as a touring cyclist. The beauty of panoramas invite you, the smells entice you, the thrill of the total oneness with nature and the rhythm with you and your bike brings you to new and back to old tours alike.

Since the 1870’s, people have been touring on bicycles. The historical record of one cycling club, the London’s Bicycle Touring Club formed in 1878, is evidence of early touring. Cycling is a feeling. You touring cyclists have a need to just get out there – get out there to smell the roses, to traverse the countryside, to zoom-zoom. You love that feeling and want to have it often. Touring can feel effortless or hard-working. Sometimes you want to see the countryside for a day or two or ten or more. You prepare with great care. You pack one or two panniers, gather maps, ensure you’ve packed that rain jacket. You tweak your touring bike, tighten a screw or two, and maybe adjust your seat for the right attack on the extra hill or two. Or you plan a days’ route ensuring you’ll climb two steep hills or three, enough to make the thrill of the descent pure.

Sometimes you want to challenge yourself on the back roads – the hills and the valleys the dirt and, oh yes, the adrenalin! You pump those mountain tires just right. You check the breaks and check your seat’s suspension. You ride left, check right, jump this stump, fly over that rock, and spin up the hill, sweat the ridge and zoom, jump, and zoom down again.

Of course you have challenges on your daily commute, as well. (See the section on traffic safety). As a courier or bike commuter, you dart swiftly between cars and past pedestrians. You require a strong enough bike to withstand the potholes and have it look roughed up enough not to attract the thieves. You feel good about being environmentally friendly. The courier enjoys the thrill of beating the vehicle traffic.

Sometimes the commuter is happiest with a cruiser bicycle where you do not worry about what type of clothes to wear, or have to change your street shoes. Do you remember how you cruised the neighborhoods with your buddies when you were a kid? You biked the sidewalks, you biked the roads, sat there proudly with your hands on the handlebars looking to and ‘fro laughing at all the motorists you thought were silly for driving cars just to sit there in needless traffic jams. Well as adults, think of cycling once more; just hop on your cruiser bike and go!

Why do bicyclists need to cycle? Cycling is in your blood or it’s not! What is the bike to the true cyclist? It is the only machine that is actually driven by the body. You are the engine and the steering wheel. You are one with your bike. You move with freedom and control. Paul Fournel said it eloquently in his book, Need for the Bike, “In life’s orchestra, the bike is the double bass. Hard to forget it!” Einstein road a bicycle often, as a casual cyclist, while he contemplated the universe. In their book, The Noblest Invention, the editors of Bicycling magazine stated that Einstein said this of the bicycle:”Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”. Tell that to those who wonder why you bicyclists cycle.

Written by Lois Knight

(Cyclist and Editor of the Cycling News section of BikeOUTFITT.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

I was introduced to cycling when I was about 14. A friend of mine got me involved. He took me to a race he and his Dad were riding in. From that point on I was hooked on cycling.

Once I was hooked on cycling and wanted to get a bike. My friend got me in touch with a man that wanted to sell his old bike. The two knew each other due to their participation in a cycling club.

At an early period in my cycling experience I learned the value of a cycling club.

Cycling clubs are a great support group! They also present an opportunity to be with like minded people and have fun together. A cycling club lets those involved network together and provide a source of getting rid of excess gear or bikes.

Some clubs foster a family type of atmosphere by having picnics and other family oriented activities.

Some of you might be asking: how could I find a club to join. Even in this internet age, to find a local club you might have to actually call up your local bike shop and ask them if they sponsor any. Another way to find them would be to ask any of your present cycling friends. I have found that the internet is not the best way to find local cycling clubs.

Clubs present another good opportunity and that is in finding people that have the same ambitions as you do in cycling. If your present friends aren’t as ambitious as you then clubs let you find others that could be.

I have yet to find a club where anyone could not fit into in some regard or another. No matter if you are a man, woman or child. I have met some really good cyclist in clubs and I have made some good friends.

If you are looking for some place to have some interaction with other cyclists go find a local club to belong to! They are there you just might have to look a little to find one you like.

When debating what the differences are between a tubular or clincher tire the more knowledgeable person may reply that there is a right time for everything. Knowing which one to choose is the question.

Fundamentally, the way a clincher tire is secured to the rim of a bike is by using air pressure. This is how the wheel gets the name of “clincher” by pneumatically sealing the tire between the outer rim bead and inner tube. The tube itself is completely separate from the tire. The largest example of a clincher tire is a drag radial as used by fuel cars.

Fueler teams have known for many years that for ease of maintenance and safety at high speed, it’s difficult to beat a tube that is independent of the tread. The main reason that passenger car tires do not have separate inset tubes is that in sustained high-speed, heavy-usage applications, a separate tube can rub on the inside of the outer tire, creating friction and heat-softening the rubber. Bicycles don’t have this problem as they typically run at much higher air pressure, and have a great deal less load to bear than a passenger car does.

A tubular tire is far more similar to a car tire, that is, the air containment chamber and the outer tread of the tire are integral to each other. The differing features between a bike tubular tire and a car tire is that whereas the the car tire is fastened using the same technique as a clincher wheel, the bicycle tire is stuck to the wheel rim using glue. Once the only performance choice for a cyclist was the tubular tire but with the progress in tire and wheel mechanics plus the acceptance of clincher wheels as a performance tire option within the racing community, the clincher wheel has now become the leading tire choice within the world of bike racing.

Reduced weight is the only real advantage of tubular wheels over clincher wheels because this type of tire does not require a thick rim to enable the seal. However, racing cyclists today are happy to use a clincher wheel made of a light alloy and composite material because of the ease of maintenance and greater reliabilty even though there is a small weight difference.

Learn more about bike clincher wheelsets. Stop by Steve James’s site where you can find out all about campagnolo wheelsets and what they can do for your bike.