Moving Company Los Angeles

Let's go, together

Yes, dirt bikes will change

by

The future world of off-road motorcycles promises to be both interesting and surprising. The onslaught of gadgetry is slow to trickle down to our sport due to the nature of dirt bikes and their necessity for robustness.

In some ways the knobby-tire world is a decade or so behind sportbike technology. The speed lobby has long adopted things like electric starters, fuel injection and twin-spar aluminum frames. If we are to use that as a model for projected progress, then that gives us a good yardstick with which to measure the future.

Although there will be an industry standard in product sophistication in the years to come, one or more makes will stand out from the crowd. KTM comes to mind since it manufactures bikes that are often cutting-edge, if not a trifle quixotic. Come with us as we look ahead.

The Next 10

The end of the next decade will yield detail changes that are already visible on the horizon. Expect obvious progress in the form of E-start, EFI and joice clutches. Not so obvious differences might be the use of the engine as a stressed member of the frame and the integration of the airbox, both traits present in the BMW G450X Enduro. Wheels and rims will likely continue as they are, but the material composition will probably change. This will be connected to the expanded use of tubeless tires and foam inserts, though their superiority to tubes isn’t yet clear.
[Read more…]

Bicycling

by

Choosing a bicycle for yourself can be a mind-boggling thing. All of your friends give you different advice: “You want best hybrid bikes.” “You don’t want best hybrid bikes for women; you need best hybrid bikes for men – they’re stronger.” The names themselves are confusing – 10-speeds, cruisers, hybrids, racers, mountain bikes. What do they all mean? And what kinds of accessories do you need?

Although most of us learned to ride when we were kids, in the United States, unlike the rest of the world, our first driver’s license is like a rite of passage, and from then on we’re pumping gas, not pedals. Fortunately, this has been changing.

Untitled20

For the past few decades, adult cycling has been on the increase. Although it started slowly, it has been building speed and size like a snowball rolling downhill. Bicycle shops have been opening all over the map with increasing frequency the past few years. The number of reasons for this burgeoning interest almost equals the types of bicycles that are now available.

Here are just a few reasons that I’ve been able to determine: The bicycle will fit in or on the RV; it doesn’t take much time to get your heart and breathing rate up; and it’s healthy, fun, money-saving, family-oriented and friendly to the ecology.

TYPES AND CHOICES [Read more…]

Pedal Power: Cycle On Yer Bike

by

Pedal Power: Cycle On Yer Bike

If you ignore all the angry motorists and listen to its converts, cycling is the new golf – a place to unwind, get fit, enjoy the outdoors and network like a bastard.

They travel in packs, anywhere between 20 and 60 or more. With their gaudy coloured coats, the sun glinting off their shiny nether parts, they’re impossible to miss. They chatter away at each other but remain in what appears a perfect formation, their strength in numbers forcing everything near them to navigate around and beyond the pack.

They’re cyclists, and it seems there are more of them furiously pedalling Australia’s highways and byways then ever before. For many of the sport’s enthusiasts, both old and recently converted, cycling represents a ‘perfect storm’ of their interests. It’s green, it’s social, it’s accessible, it’s fat-burning and it’s way easier on the joints than jogging or tennis.

“Cycling is the new golf,” confirms champion Australian cyclist Robbie McEwen (see interview on page 106). The international feats of McEwen and compatriots such as Cadel Evans, Stuart O’Grady, Michael Rogers and Simon Gerrans, particularly at the Tour de France, are undoubtedly a factor in cycling’s surge in popularity among Australians.

[Read more…]

13 tips for good trips

by

13 Tips For Good Trips

A Pair of Expert Tour Leaders Tells How to Avoid the Most Common Vacation Busters–Whether You’re Riding the Road or Trail

In the 4 years Mike Deme has been leading road tours for Adventure Cycling (406/721-1776, MT), he’s seen his charges make lots of mistakes. Some errors were minor, but others ruined a long-planned vacation. All were avoidable. Here, Deme outlines the most common goofs, then offers solutions.

MISTAKE #1/SAME-SPEED TRAINING

“Don’t just do distance. You need some variation. Intervals are great once you start getting in shape. Try riding all out for 2 minutes then rest for 3 minutes, ride hard for 2 minutes, and so on. Mix it up or you’ll get bored silly.”

MISTAKE #2/CARRYING TOO MUCH

“Take as little stuff as possible. Using something once in a month isn’t a good reason to take it. On a 2-week self-contained trip, 35 to 40 pounds of gear should be all you need. Once you’re packed for 2 weeks, you’re packed for 3 months. You just reuse stuff. [Read more…]

A healthy spin: cycle your way to a stronger heart, slimmer waist, and more joy

by

A healthy spin: cycle your way to a stronger heart, slimmer waist, and more joy

 

VANESSA CAIRNS, 40, hadn’t been on a bicycle since childhood when she signed up, on a whim, for a charit bike ride. In the middle of the 50-mile event, she struck up a friendship with another female cyclist, and they finished the ride together. “I didn’t expect to have so much fun, or to get hooked,” says the San Jose, Calif., resident, who now bikes four days a week. Nor did she expect to lose weight–but Cairns dropped from a size 12 to a size six.

EASE YOUR KNEES. Biking is a low-impact way to burn calories and boost your cardiovascular health. “You’re not pounding the pavement, so it’s an ideal activity if you have lower-back or knee problems,” says personal trainer Lorri Lee Lown, founder of Velo Girls cycling club in San Francisco.

STRETCH OUT. Before exercising, do gentle movement-based stretches like arm circles and walking lunges to increase your range of motion, says physical therapist Chris Frederick, coauthor of Stretch to Win (Human Kinetics, 2006). After your workout, when your body is sufficiently warm, I switch to held stretches–like the hip flexor stretch (good for hips tight from sitting at a desk or in the car) on page 44.”
[Read more…]