Month: May 2021

As a parent you make dozens of decisions daily in an effort to keep your children safe. Choosing the right bicycle helmet and enforcing its use should be at the top of your list. Browse these stats: Properly wearing a bicycle helmet has been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by almost 90 percent. Yet, only 5 percent of children nationwide currently wear helmets while bicycling. Hmmm, you made your child brush his teeth this morning, but you're letting him roam the neighborhood without a helmet? Consider this: Each year, more than 130 children die from bicycle-related injuries and approximately 270,000 are treated in emergency rooms. Of these, nearly half (47 percent) have traumatic brain injuries. This isn't to scare you; it is all about educating you as a parent. The bottom line – a bike helmet is fundamental …

Most adults can remember back to the moment they received their first two-wheel bike and I am no exception.

My first two-wheel bicycle was a circa 1970's model that was shiny purple in color with a white banana seat, chopper back bar and matching colored tassels hanging off the handles.

It also had a white basket clad with a floral motif. The bicycle was similar in design to a 1968 "Orange Krate", but without the shifter.

After I outgrew that bicycle I ended up with a pink "Huffy." The "Huffy" got traded in for several different purple and pink "Schwinn" 10 speeds, which I also later abandoned in lieu of my first car.

Thankfully for those of us who like to wax nostalgic over such childhood pleasures, there is a place one can go and revel in bicycle history; the "Bicycle Museum of America."

Situated in the City of New …

Early morning
sun in the trees
crispy cool air
most asleep
some leaving for church
pedaling the quiet streets
a lady waves
pruning her garden
gardening makes them happy
cobblestone street
tires thumping on well-worn bricks
passing old brick houses
feeling good on this ride
enjoying a slice of time
waiting for the light
reach the park
sit by the lake and smile
the ducks are happy today
and so am I…

Most people that purchase a bicycle will do so at a sport shop or a "mart". The problem with purchasing a low end bicycle from a sporting goods store or a mart is that after the warranty expires you may no longer get free repairs, exchanges or parts. In most cases people that purchase a bicycle from volume oriented shops are basically buying a disposable product. They will ride the bicycle a few times and if something breaks or, in some cases, they get a flat tire the bicycle is stored or discarded and a new one is purchased. This isn't a very good use of disposable income. The income may be set aside for such recreational purposes but in fact it would be cheaper and more efficient if the person purchasing the bicycle knew some of the basic maintenance techniques used to keep a bicycle in good operation condition.…

A major departure from where a women's bike used to be, Specialized's FSR Marathon woman's specific mountain bike is a force to be reckoned with, on the trail and on the showroom floor. While some lesser manufacturers are putting out lower-quality women's bikes, Specialized bikes is releasing its full-suspension line of women's specific mountain bikes with some flair, creating a full-suspension women's bike with all the style a rider expects, with excellent components and a women's specific geometry that sets the full-suspension mountain bike market on its ear.

Women's bicycle design, and specifically women's mountain bike design, has come a long way since the first bike rolled down the street. Initially, only the top tube was offset to make room for the long dresses women used to wear. Other than that, women's bikes weren't much different from men's bikes. It wasn't until recently that women's bikes were built specifically for …