Sport of Cycling/Biking

6 Types of Cycling You Should Try
Riding a bicycle is an activity that gives a ton of advantages. Aside from boosting physical health and fitness, cycling also gives improves mental and social health. But unknown to many, there are different types of cycling disciplines, which bring different benefits for the body. This article by Jessica Strange lists six types of cycling and explains how each type benefits the cyclist. The first type is BMX cycling, which is not only fun but also improves bike handling confidence and effective pumping. Tandem riding focuses on teamwork and enhances trust between teammates. Cyclocross works every muscle in the body, track cycling develops effective cadence; mountain riding gives a full body workout; and road cycling develops endurance, pacing, and energy management.

Everything You Need to Know About BMX Bikes
What’s in a BMX bike? This article will give you an extensive discussion of the BMX bike, an off-road bicycle used for stunt riding and racing. While it is originally used by bicycle motocross (hence the name BMX) racers for dirt courses, the BMX bike has come evolve as a bike for different disciplines of bicycle motocross such as BMX freestyle, and for parks, streets, flatlands, and vert riding as well. The article also features the history of the BMX bike, compares and contrasts BMX bike types and sizes, breaks down the anatomy of the BMX bike and describes its various functions, explains how the gearing works, and lists down five popular BMX bike brands.

Proper Bike Helmet Fitting
There's no point in wearing a helmet if it doesn't fit right enough to ensure protection and comfort. This website includes tips to get a perfect helmet fit, a helmet fit checklist, videos, and a page on one-size-fits-all helmets. Tips for fitting a bike helmet include: putting the helmet on your head so it sits evenly between the ears and rests low on your forehead. The helmet should only be about 1-2 finger widths above your eyebrow. Put foam pads in the helmet for comfort and better fitting. Tighten the chin strap as snugly as possible. Adjust the junction of front and back straps just under the ears and secure back strap without putting pressure on the front strap. More tips are included to ensure a safe, comfy bike riding experience.

How to Choose an Indoor Bike Trainer
When the weather gets chilly, or you just don't feel like going outside to train for a triathlon or improve your bicycling, cycling trainers, rollers, stationary bikes and spinning bikes are the perfect options. There are several pieces of equipment that will make your indoor riding experience productive. The first is a trainer for your bike. Trainers are designed to hold your bike upright with the back wheel in contact with the trainer. The unit provides resistance while pedaling, and there are various types of trainers to choose from: stand-alone resistance trainers (air, magnetic or fluid) and high-tech units (such as a CompuTrainer). These trainers operate through a computer. Rollers are another good indoor bicycling option. They consist of a frame with three revolving drums on which a bicycle can be ridden. Learning to ride rollers takes a lot of practice and bravery, though, as the rider is not "attached" like the trainer, and needs to balance upright while pedaling.

Bike Forums
Every triathlete can get useful information from this site, and from other triathletes that have used the same products and been in the same races. There is a Tour de France forum, as well as a forum about bike maintenance. Need to find a good place in your area to bike? Check out the rides forum. A message board about racing, training and buying is also available.

Bicycle Maintenance Guide
This handy guide includes information about maintaining your bicycle. Because there are many aspects and pieces associated with bike maintenance, it's important to have a comprehensive guide. This one includes driving, wheels, steering and more. The steering page discusses drop handlebars, aero bars and triathlon bars. The most common types are clamped to the top of the handlebars. There are many different types, and the author's favorite is Syntace, despite the prices that border on extortion (little required pieces of plastic need to be bought separately at unreal prices). They clamp on the thick inner part of the handlebars, leaving more room for holding the top of the handlebars, they have a very low height and comfortable and adjustable armrests, and they have just the right length and a steep front that doesn't require bending the wrists too much, the author notes.

U.S. Bicycle Route System on AdventureCycling.org
AdventureCycling.org presents the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS), a continuously developing national network of bicycle routes, which aims to link urban, suburban, and rural areas across the country using a array of appropriate cycling facilities. Currently, it has been established in 15 US states, including Alaska, Kentucky, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts, with more than 40 other states working to have this system. There is a separate page about the history of USBRS, and information about the National Corridor Plan, a map of 50-mile wide corridors that is being planned to become official routes. For more information, you can watch their YouTube information video.

Cycling BMX
Bicycle motocross, also known as BMX, is not just a hobby; it is also an official international sport and is an Olympic event. Tracing its roots in California in the late 1960s, BMX gained traction around the 1970s and became an official international sport in 1993 upon its integration into the International Cycling Union. BMX debuted as an Olympic sport in the Beijing Games in 2008, with Maris Strombergs of Latvia bagging the gold medal in the men’s event and Anne-Caroline Chausson of France winning the gold for the women’s event. BMX is considered the newest of all the Olympic cycling disciplines, with eight participants trying to best each other on a track designed with different obstacles.