Going Clipless

Last year I changed my pedals to clipless and I have never looked back. I enjoy the control and extra power that I get from being clipped in to my pedals. I have a friend of mine that changed just this year to clipless and is also finding the new pedals to be a big improvement over her standard bike pedal. She was asking for some pointers and to keep her in mind as she started off on this new endeavor.

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3 Month Inventory

I am incredibly excited about how well the blog is doing. In a very short time, it has been able to achieve heights that surpassed my goals, and that is all thanks to you guys. Thank you for taking the time to stop by, subscribe to the feed and comment on posts. This blog would be nothing without it’s readers.

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Ellsworth Hires David Woronets

Ramona, Calif., (June 16, 2008) – Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles, Inc. is pleased to announce that David Woronets will be joining Ellsworth as operations manager. Effective June 16, Woronets will oversee Ellsworth’s frame building operations in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area as Ellsworth continues to optimize building the finest bike frames in the world right here in the USA.

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Blankets Creek – The VMT

First, how did the Van Michael Loop get it’s name? One of the local businesses in the area, Van Michael Salon, donated $10,000 towards the construction of this new loop for Blankets Creek. Personally, I have absolutely zero problem with naming the trail after them. One, they are supposedly avid mountain bikers, so they are supporting the sport they love.

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The First 30 Days

The time periods vary depending on the rider, but in generally the first 30 days on the bike are the most critical. During this time period, you are going to notice the fastest improvements in endurance and bike handling. I have talked with riders on this subject before, and most of us agree that new riders are much like the graph shown above, you see great improvements at the beginning.

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Doing things we hate…

This month, our Lifetime Fitness finally opened around the corner. One of the biggest draws to this gym, for me, was the incredible spinning room. Now, I hate spinning. Riding a bike in a room for fitness is not high on my list of fun activities, but spinning does have one very real benefit…it makes you a stronger rider.

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I Miss My Bike

I wrote a post recently on what cycling was to me. This week, I am once again reminded what happens when I miss out on my weekly ride routine that gives me all of the benifits that I mentioned in that post. The job that pays the bills had me out on the road from Monday until today.

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MTBR Pro Reviews

Be on the lookout for my Pro Reviews on MTBR. I have been talking with MTBR over the course of this week and we are both really excited about adding my reviews to their site. The first review posted is the Maxxis Ardent 29er post that some of you may have already seen. From now on, I will be posting product reviews to the MTBR site at the same time as MTB by 198.

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Riding Tips for Women

Summer time brings the excitement of planning evening or weekend rides. I know that I try to plan a few rides a week, and most of the time, my husband and I ride together. There are times when he isn’t able to go, and I still want to use my time to hit the trails. Some women don’t think about it and just go ride, but I always have a bit of reservation in the back of my head because not everyone that is out on the forest trails are there for the sheer enjoyment of the forest.

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