When I got back into cycling 3 years ago it never crossed my mind that I will have to pay a small fortune to keep my bike maintained and running in good order. The cost of servcing a bike seems to vary as a basic service could cost as little as £30 to a full service for around £120.00 this is excluding any parts that may be required. My Local bike shop charges £69.00 for a bronze service, for this basic service which is really just checking your bike over, if you need any parts that?s even more cash you will have to part with. Learn how to maintain your bike and drive the cost of bicycle maintanance down. Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cyclingchatcouk/~3/tpvUDrOzP0g/
Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/levi-comments-radioshacks-leader-in-tour-de-france/
Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/team-radioshack-line-up-in-tour-of-austria/
In a little town in Northern Romania, two boys laughed as they wheeled up and down the street. I'm sure they would have been pedaling bikes if they'd had them. They didn't. But they had a wheelbarrow. It had a metal wheel that squeaked so loud you'd swear a 700-pound hamster was exercising in its cage. They took turns pushing each other around. The smaller boy had quite a difficult time pushing his larger friend up the hill, which only made them laugh harder.No doubt the ride would have been smoother if their wheelbarrow was equipped with a shock and a top-of-the-line long distance touring tire. No blisters on their hands if they had custom gel gloves. And they could have mapped their progress up and down the street if they had a GPS-enhanced wheelbarrow-ometer. They didn't.Their smiles challenge me. Okay Mr. Traveler, can you have as much fun as we do?We are assaulted with so many choices and upgrade options. How can you proceed until you get the ultimate touring bike? The best digital camera? The lightest tent? The perfect panniers or tricked-out trailer?Sometimes it's good to be reminded that you are way ahead if you simply have a bike.Go out and pedal with as much joy as two boys sharing a wheelbarrow. I double dare you.Photo: Romania -- 1996 by Willie WeirSource: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/10/double-dare.html
Source: http://blog.bike-science.com/2011/10/12/we-build-what-you-want
When you read the word "crowded" what images come to mind? How about "crowded room" or "crowded bar" or "crowded bus"?A couple of definitions I ran across were, "close to capacity" and "uncomfortably close together."But what is "capacity" and what is "uncomfortable"?Let's take the situation of putting your bike on the bus. Where I live in Seattle, the bike racks on the buses hold three bikes. A bus driver is not allowed to let you bring your bike on board. So the capacity is three. End of story. In many countries around the world, the capacity of public transportation is whatever will fit inside, on top of, strapped onto, hanging off of the vehicle. The bus is at capacity only when the driver screams and waves his arms "Enough!" or when the bus literally topples over. You think I'm kidding? It happens.If you say "crowded train" to someone who lives in India or Japan, their mental image will be far different than that of someone who lives in the United States or Canada.One of the many things I love about travel is that it constantly tweaks our own language. Each one of my bicycle journeys has redefined certain words: beautiful, ugly, loud, serene, rich, poor, fair, unfair, tragedy, happiness.I remember getting onto a bus in Guatemala. The driver wouldn't leave until all the seats were filled. Then he kept picking up people along the route. His helper, who collected the fares, walked on top of the backs of the seats to get around (being small was a requirement for this position). Before each stop I thought, "This bus is full." And then two or three more people would get on. I began to wonder if there was actually enough oxygen for us all to breathe.When is a bus crowded? When is a highway busy? When is a road steep? When is a pannier full?The answers to those questions (and so many others) are defined and influenced by our wanderings on this incredible planet.Photo: Laos -- 2005 by Willie WeirSource: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/11/redefining-crowded.html
Photo by Tobias PieperSource: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/10/sitting-at-my-computer-researching.html
Source: http://blog.bike-science.com/2011/09/27/retul-bike-fit-what-our-clients-are-saying