Inching Around The World

This is one of the best bike travel journal I have ever read.

They are Zoe & Paul, who are in their 50s, got tired of their job, sold their home and embarked on a world bicycle tour.

What I like about their journal is that they are full of nice photos, 'interesting' information about the local foods and their accommodations. And I really envy the way they tour... slow & steady with no time constraints. This is what I call 'Bicycle Touring'!

Being a Malaysian and a bike tourist myself, their photos and stories really brought back old memories of my tour in Malaysia.

And I'm sure that they are having great time on their bikes , going places. What (I think!) they are missing is they should have taste the durians. Trust me, it tastes 'out of this world'ly great! Just ask my buddy, Steve, a 'farang', 'gwai-lo', 'ang-moh' from Canada who is a durian fanatic! (sorry Steve!)

check out their journal at Inching Around The World and their website, 50ontheroad.com

Bike Helmets : Tips For Better & Safety Fit

Source : kval.com/YouTube

Proper Wearing of Bicycle Helmet

As late as the mid-1980s, individuals who wore helmets while riding their bicycles were often looked at as being a bit off the beaten path and strangely overprotective of their own health. That viewpoint has changed dramatically because most people know that going on a bicycle trip of any length without a helmet is risky behavior. The key to getting the benefit from the helmet is wearing it correctly. The Bicycle Safety Helmet Institute determined that the average bicyclist has one crash every 4,500 miles and that underscores the need for a helmet.

Snug Fit

It's one thing to put on a helmet and it's another thing to wear it correctly. The helmet should cover at least half of the forehead, fit snugly and be attached under the chin. The bicycle helmet should not move more than one inch in any direction.The sizing pads that come with the helmet should be applied for critical protection around the entire head.

Straps

Make sure the straps hang down around the side of the head and nowhere near the front of the face. If the straps are in front, they can interfere with your vision. Even if you just notice them in one corner, they are obscuring your peripheral vision. Make sure you buy a helmet that does not have extra long straps so it can fit snugly and nothing obscures your vision.

Wear It Flat

Make sure the helmet is flat on top of your head and not at an angle. Many bicyclists might think they can see better or think it's cooler to tilt the helmet back at an angle. That can be a critical mistake. Many crashes come quickly and the fall can be harsh and straight down. In that case the helmet needs to be flat on your head to protect your forehead and face.

Source: eHow-by Steve Silverman/ photo from kval.com

Bonking

If you watch a major bicycle race on TV, you have to be impressed by how the riders can eat enough to sustain them through races that require more than five hours of near maximum effort. If they do not get enough food during their ride, they can fall off their bikes, lie on the ground unconscious and start to shake all over in a in a massive convulsion. This is called bonking: passing out from low blood sugar.

Your brain gets almost all of its fuel from sugar in your bloodstream. When your blood sugar level drops, your brain cannot get enough fuel to function properly, you feel tired and confused and can pass out. There is only enough sugar in your bloodstream to last three minutes. To keep your blood sugar level from dropping, your liver must constantly release sugar from its cells into your bloodstream, but there is only enough sugar in your liver to last 12 hours at rest. During intense exercise, your muscles draw sugar from your bloodstream at a rapid rate. Your liver can run out of its stored sugar and your blood sugar level can drop, and you bonk.

Bonking is common in bicycle races if a rider does not eat frequently, but is rare in long distance running races. When you run, your leg muscles are damaged from the constant pounding on the roads and you must slow down. However, you pedal in a smooth rotary motion which does not damage your muscles, so you can continue to pedal at a rapid cadence for many hours.

To prevent your blood sugar from dropping too low during intense exercise lasting more than two hours, eat at least every 15 minutes. It doesn't matter what you eat: salted peanuts, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chicken, an apple, a banana or anything else. Almost all fit people can take small amounts of food frequently during exercise without developing stomach cramps.

Source: Dr.Mirkin.com/ photo from cyclejerk

Coffee & Exercise Performance

Caffeine is part of the naturally occurring group of stimulants found in leaves, nuts and seeds of a number of plants. Common dietary sources include coffee, tea, chocolate and a variety of soft drinks and sports drinks. The caffeine content of various foodstuffs is given below.

Table 1. Caffeine content of various foodstuffs

Foodstuff	Serving size	Caffeine content (mg)
Coffee*	150 ml	50-120
Tea*	150 ml	15-50
Chocolate Drink**	250 ml	10
Milk Chocolate**	50g	40
Caffeinated Soft Drinks	330 ml	40-100

(from Maughan 1999)
* Values for coffee and tea vary widely depending on the source and
method of preparation.
** In addition to caffeine, chocolate contains theobromine, which has an insignificant effect compared to caffeine.

So what is the effect of caffeine on different types of exercise?

Although the mechanism whereby caffeine may aid performance is not fully understood, there is substantial research that concludes that caffeine does improve physical performance. Its effect also appears to be widespread across a diverse variety of sports and exercises. Studies have also been wide ranging and have included well-trained athletes and relatively sedentary individuals of both sexes and different age groups.

One of the most comprehensive and recent reviews (Doherty and Smith 2004) looked at 39 published studies. Of these, 21 involved endurance exercise, 12 used short duration and high-intensity exercise and the remaining 6 used a graded exercise test. Including all these data, caffeine improved performance by 12.4%, relative to the placebo trials and this was shown to greatest effect in those who undertook exercise for a longer duration at any one time.

There are also a number of studies that show the beneficial effects of drinking coffee and/or caffeine ingestion on high intensity exercise. These include improved performance on a 1500 m run (Wiles 1992) and Anselme (1992) showed that anaerobic power in a cycling test was improved by the ingestion of the equivalent of two cups (250mg) of caffeinated coffee. Cycling was also the sport studied more recently by Bell (2001) when caffeine (5mg/kg) was shown to improve performance in a high intensity cycling test.

The beneficial effect has also been demonstrated in swimming trials. Collomp (1992) showed that in a swimming test (2x100m) there was improved performance after ingestion of 250 mg of caffeine.

What is the effective amount of caffeine?

Recent studies used small amounts of caffeine (1-2mg/kg). In many studies, coffee was used whilst others have used caffeine. However, they all show that small amounts of caffeine are effective in improving exercise performance significantly and these smaller amounts, as little as 90mg caffeine, are not associated with any unwanted side effects.

Caffeine and fluid requirements

The diuretic effect of caffeine is often over stressed, particularly in situations where dehydration is a major issue. This affects particularly competitions held in hot, humid climates where the risk of dehydration is high and is more important for endurance athletes where dehydration has a greater effect on performance.

Athletes competing in these conditions are often advised to increase their intake of fluid but also advised to avoid tea and coffee because of their mild diuretic effect. Current research, however, shows that, not only is this mild diuretic effect insignificant during exercise (Armstrong, 2002), but the negative effects caused by cutting such drinks from the diet may be more damaging (Maughan and Griffin, 2003). Conclusions from published studies show that intakes of less than 300mg caffeine a day will not affect levels of body's fluids.

Conclusion

In many of these studies, where performance was improved by the ingestion of caffeine or drinking coffee, there was the also the additional benefit of an associated reduction in the sensation of fatigue.

Given the various initiatives aimed at promoting physical activity to improve health, anything that encourages participation by reducing the discomfort and fatigue most people feel when exercising, has enormous potential implications for improving public health. Caffeine, in the form of coffee or as a pure ingredient, has that ability.

Source: positively coffee

WD-40 as lubricant

Never use WD-40 to lubricate your drivetrain.

WD-40 is meant for rust-prevention. It's a 'squeak-stopper'. It is also a degreaser as well as water repellent. It's a wonderful household item. It may be used as cleaner or 'light' lubricant for door hinges, locks, toys but not bicycle drivetrain especially the chain.

The fast-moving bicycle chain will strip away lubricant and leave the chain dry. This is bad!

Instead, use suitable lubricant that is specially made for bicycle like the one from Finish Line, White Lightning, Pedros, etc, to lubricate your drivetrain. They are heavy duty, also water-proof and great for your chain.

For degrease purpose, I personally use citrus degreaser because they did a great job & safe to use. If I am to use the WD-40 as degreaser, I will wipe it off clean before applying the lubricant. This is to prevent it from striping away the lube after applying it.

Calories Burned Bike Riding per hour

Calories Burned Bike Riding per hour

	140lbs	195lbs
Bicycling, 10-11.9 mph, light effort Bicycling, 12-13.9 mph, moderate effort Bicycling, 14-15.9 mph, vigorous effort Bicycling, 16-19 mph, very fast, racing Bicycling, >20 mph, racing Bicycling, Mountain or BMX Bicycling, stationary, general Bicycling, stationary, very light effort Bicycling, stationary, light effort Bicycling, stationary, moderate effort Bicycling, stationary, vigorous effort Bicycling, stationary, very vigorous effort	381 508 636 763 1017 540 318 191 330 445 667 795	531 708 885 1062 1416 753 443 266 487 620 930 1107

Source : NutriStrategy