FitSugar

First Steps When Shopping For a Bike

Leta Shy — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 05:02:47 PDT

I'm in a cycling state of mind, and not just because the Tour de France starts this weekend. After a stint roaming around city streets while I was on vacation, I'm hooked on finding the best bike to do the same at home. But as a beginner city cyclist I'm overwhelmed by all the information and choices available. To dip my feet in the bicycling waters, I checked out the bikes at Lombardi's Sports, a local sport shop, and learned some tips from the bike specialists there. The first thing they recommend is to figure out the main purpose for your shiny new ride. Knowing a rough percentage of the time you envision yourself commuting to work or whether you primarily want to use your bike for exercise will help you decide whether a road, hybrid, or mountain bike is for you. Read on for more recommendations for first-time bike buyers.

Your Urban Biking Essentials

Michele Foley — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:30:05 PDT

As someone who regularly bikes in the city ("the city" being San Francisco), there are a few things that I always have on me. Things that I think work well for anyone who bikes in an urban environment. First things first, safety - both for you and for your bike. That means bike lights, a helmet, and a lock to secure your bike with. When it comes to actual riding, I opt for cute moisture wicking tops and padded bike shorts that are discreet enough to wear under my everyday clothes. And because you never know what you'll get while out, having a basket or small bike bag is a must. To find out more about an item, or to buy it for yourself, click on the image above.

The How-Tos of Locking Up Your Bike

FitSugar — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:00:08 PDT

As someone who lives on her bike, I get seriously bummed whenever I hear that someone's bike was stolen. The former first daughter - Jenna Bush Hager - and her husband had their mountain bikes stolen from their garage last Friday. Making matters worse, the Trek bikes were pretty pricey, totaling $3,500. Not a cheap loss by any means. This whole episode reminded me of the importance of properly locking and storing your bike, something I've become pretty good about. And though I may sound a little paranoid, I live in an urban area where bike theft is not only common, it's rampant.

Here are a few reminders when it comes to proper locking technique:

Take extra precautions and store your bike inside of your home. Based on personal experience, I know that it's a lot easier for thieves to get into a garage, which is why I keep my bike in my hallway. If space is an issue and you have to keep your bike outside or in the garage, still make a point to lock it up. A friend of mine locks her bike to her backyard stairwell railing.
Start off with a secure lock. The more important your bike is to you, the better the lock should be. All bike shop owners I know say to invest in a U-lock because these protect best against bolt cutters - Kryptonite is known as making some of the best out there. I also have locking skewers for my wheels and bike seat so they can't be removed with a simple Allen wrench. At the very least, ditch the quick release skewer on your front wheel so it's not an easy target for thieves, or make sure to always lock that front wheel. Also, the less wiggle room in your lock, the harder it will be for a thief to fit a jack inside of it.

To find out the rest of my tips,

Dare to Take the Clif 2 Mile Challenge

FitSugar — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:00:49 PDT

I'm loving two-wheelin' during National Bike Month and these three stats have given me extra incentive bike every where: 1) 40 percent of US urban travel is under two miles; 2) 90 percent of those trips are made in cars; 3) for every mile you bike instead of drive you reduce your carbon footprint by one pound of carbon dioxide. Put these three pieces of info together and it's easy to see that biking more about town is not only good for your health, it's good for the planet too.

For an extra incentive to hop on my bike for easy errands, I joined the 2 Mile Challenge. Created by Clif Bar, the 2 Mile Challenge is equal parts eco awareness, fitness initiative, and fundraiser for three different charities. When you sign up for the challenge you join a team that raises points for one of the charities. All three organizations will receive $25,000 from Clif, but the one with the most points on Oct. 31 will receive an additional $25,000. Here are the teams.

Red Team: Alliance For Biking and Walking
Red Team: Trips For Kids
Blue Team: Alliance For Climate Education

You also earn points for your team by registering for a team and linking personal Facebook accounts to the 2 Mile Challenge site; issuing bike-riding challenges for yourself and friends; logging miles for every mile you ride or walk instead of drive; and logging trips for consecutive weeks. Raising money for a cool organization and challenging friends adds another element of fun to biking, an already fun mode of transportation.

I dare you to take the challenge!

And the Best Place to Ride Your Bike Is . . .

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:00:24 PDT

Ever since the sun made an appearance, I feel like I'm centering my life around my bike. I spent the entire weekend biking, even refusing to go anywhere that wasn't bike-friendly or accessible by pedal power. Luckily I live in San Francisco, which Bicycling magazine ranks as the sixth bike-friendliest city in America. I have to agree that the abundance of bike lanes and the bike racks on public transportation make it a pretty sweet city to live in. Sitting on top of the list is Minneapolis, cited for its "120 miles of on- and off-street bicycle facilities, plus indoor bike parking."

To come up with its ranking, the editors of Bicycling looked at things like segregated bike lanes, municipal bike racks, bike boulevards, great bike shops, and having a supportive community. They also only considered cities that had populations of 100,000 or more, and strove for geographical diversity.

Here's the top 10; check out Bicycling to see if your city made it somewhere onto the top 50.

Minneapolis, MN
Portland, OR
Boulder, CO
Seattle, WA
Eugene, OR
San Francisco, CA
Madison, WI
New York, NY
Tucson, AZ
Chicago, IL

Urban Biking 101: "Sharrows"

FitSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:02:02 PDT

You know I love a little word play, and "sharrows" might just be my new favorite portmanteau.

I have seen these arrows on the road for years but learned their formal name this morning listening to a radio program about San Francisco's new bike plan. Which sounds awesome, by the way! The share-the-road-arrows are painted on the road to help guide cyclists through designated routes and demarcate bike lanes. They also act as a visual reminder for drivers to share the road and to look out for cyclists.

In Praise of Urban Biking

FitSugar — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 02:30:00 PDT

After watching An Inconvenient Truth, I started asking "What would Al Gore Do?" as I walked around my house turning out lights left on in empty rooms - or when my husband left the car idling. I guess the answer to that question would be, "He would win a Nobel Peace Prize! That is what Al Gore would do."

FitSugar gives a big congratulations to Al Gore and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their shared win of the Nobel Prize. In honor of this momentous nod to changing our ways to positively affect climate change, I wanted to take a moment to praise urban biking. Biking is a great way to get about town and not only decreases your carbon footprint, but it gives you a workout too. Parking is easy as well. You just ride right up to where you are going and lock up your bike. If the streets are over congested, you can speed past all those cars on your agile two wheeled, pedal-powered bike. That's why David Byrne likes to bike in NYC.

Do you bike around town? Tell me about why you like it in the comment section below.

P.S. I am wondering where this cute urban biker's helmet is? I do think Al would suggest protecting her noggin while protecting the environment – don't you?

Source

Speakers That Can Go Anywhere: Turtle Shell by Outdoor Technology

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:10:46 PST

Taking your tunes with you wherever you roam is easy with an MP3 player and some solid headphones, but what if you're riding a bike, hanging at the lake with some friends, or camping? Enter the Turtle Shell by Outdoor Technology. This small speaker was made to hit the road (or trail) with you. The geometric-shaped speaker fits in the palm of your hand, is water-resistant, comes with a built-in microphone for connecting to your Bluetooth devices (like an iPhone perhaps), and even connects to a Gorillapod for clamping down on the nearest tree or a specialized rig to attach to the front end of your bike. A bike trail sing-along? I'll take it.

The Turtle Shell won't be out until May of this year, and Outdoor Technology also has some sweet wireless Bluetooth headphones with the same geometric flair going on sale in June, most likely through Urban Outfitters. See more of both products in the gallery!

5 Ways Spending Less Will Create More Happiness

LearnVest — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:15:49 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Recently, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote an op-ed piece about the “Haimish Line.” The Haimish Line is an invisible line sometimes crossed when you go from spending less to spending more - in doing so, Brooks contends, you often sacrifice warmth and connection to attain luxury and space. According to Brooks, “haimish” is a Yiddish word that suggests “warmth, domesticity and unpretentious conviviality.”

An exclusive, white-tablecloth, four-star restaurant where servers disappear and diners are on their Blackberries would be north of the Haimish Line. A small, casual diner on the corner bustling with loud conversations from neighborhood folks talking over each other would be south of the Haimish Line. A new dorm building with a shiny, new, unused lounge would be north of the Haimish Line; the well-worn lounge of ratty furniture that students veer toward would be staunchly planted south of the Haimish Line. The Haimish Line even slices across neighborhoods: densely packed urban neighborhoods where kids run home from school and and people have stoop conversations versus spread-out suburbs of isolated living in separate homes and cars.

Brooks advises that we learn to spend our money well and stay south of the Haimish Line.

I found this essay so compelling because money often buys privacy, space, exclusivity and “luxury”-all of which are the very opposite of “unpretentious conviviality.” In America, the picture of success is a bigger house (where the family is more spread out), moving to the suburbs (with more distance between neighbors), a nicer car (to be more vigilant about spills in), and flying first class (ok, so some things are not worth getting all concerned about “the Haimish Line” over).

Read on for ways to spend less and create happiness.

There and Back Again: 5 Stylish and Practical Bike Bags

Michele Foley — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:57:47 PDT

With a few exceptions, one of the biggest problems cycling presents is how to carry all that stuff. This is especially true for urban commuters - even the best no-handed rider can't balance a wallet, laptop, and a packed lunch during their ride! While it may seem like any messenger-like bag will do, it's simply not true. When shopping for the perfect bike bag, look for one that's durable, will hold up against the elements, and also fits your body comfortably. Don't forget about all the stuff you'll be carrying either - extra pockets, zippers, and straps really make a world of difference.

Keep reading to see our picks for some of the most stylish, yet practical, bags to use during your bike commute!