Archive for May, 2008
www.roadbikerides.com/ride/view/skull_valley_-_kirkland_loop/965
If you are ever in Prescott, Arizona there is a road bike ride that is a must do. The loop from Prescott that takes you to Skull Valley, AZ then Kirkland, AZ and then back to Prescott, AZ is right up there with one of the best road bike rides in the state of Arizona. The ride has everything; killer descent, flats, climbs with scenic views.
You start out in the pines of Prescott, AZ then descent down to the high desert of Arizona then climb you way back up the pines of Prescott, AZ.
I happen to be out exploring this ride and about half way on the loop I hooked up with the Prescott Sunday group ride that rides this loop. Pictured above Tim Hull and Keith Isaacson. Tim is the manager of Ironclad Bicycles and organizes rides in Prescott, AZ.
You can do the loop both directions but most cyclists do the loop counter clockwise which makes for a more scenic climb.
Below is the profile. As you can see you start out with a 7 mile climb up Iron Springs Rd then descent for about 20 miles. The last half of the ride you climb your way back to Prescott.
Pictured below Prescott Valley from Iron Springs Road at the beginning of the bike ride.
Pictured below from left to right: Michelle, Steve, Tim Hull, Keith Isaacson stopped at the Wilhoit country store.
DO YOU HAVE A MUST DO RIDE? IF SO CLICK HERE.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Thanks to all of you the commented on the MUSCLETRAC post. Congratulations to Donald Jones who is pictured above! Don is the lucky winner of the MUSCLETRAC.
The more and more I use the MUSCLETRAC the more I dig it. 
It is awesome!!
Athletes, Coaches, Sportmedicine Professionals and Trainers from across the world are discovering the benefits and versatility of the emerging Muscletrac® Performance Therapy Device.
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The Muscletrac was developed by Sports Physician Dr. David J. Fitzmaurice, with over 30 years of experience treating Olympic, Professional, College and Recreational athletes across sports. Dr. Fitzmaurice’s extensive experience fueled the innovation of the Muscletrac® Performance Therapy Device, which unites the benefits of both a muscle probe and roller.
Be the next to feel the Muscletrac difference and purchase a Muscletrac today. Your Satisfaction is 100% Guaranteed! 
Popularity: 5% [?]
I was excited to get my hands on the VholdR All in One Camera. The camera body is small, fits in the palm of your hand. The camera does not include a memory card so I had to run out and pick up a micro SD card, currently the VholdR does not support SDHC cards. TIP: When formatting the memory card be sure to use FAT32 like the quick start suggests. Once I had the card formatted I was ready to roll video.
My first attempts with the camera didn’t go quite like I had hoped. I ran into problems that I later chalk up to user error for the most part. For example, when you turn on the camera it needs to “boot” up. This boot up process can take 10 to 20 seconds, but if you are familiar with an instant digital satisfaction world, like myself, you might not be patient enough. When I didn’t hear any beeps when I turned it on I would start pressing more buttons and I think I froze it up. Speaking of patience, I didn’t give it enough time when I engaged the record. It too takes a few seconds to kick in. If you’re expecting it to instantly start recording (which is indicated by a single beep) then you’ll need to be patient. Once again when I didn’t instantly get the beep I started pushing buttons.
On my first time out with the camera I didn’t stop recording, actually I think I had the play/stop reversed so while I was riding I had it stopped and while driving home I had it in record mode. In this instance the resulting file got corrupted. I have 2 theories as to what happened, because the recording kept going and filled up the memory card the file was not properly closed, thus corrupting it. My next thought is that the resulting 1.4 GB AVI file is problematic. I know a few years back when working with video files we wouldn’t create AVI files bigger than 1 GB so they wouldn’t get corrupted. One thing I do while riding for extended periods of time is I stop and start recording every 20 to 30 minutes. This results in a new AVI file being written to the memory card. It is somewhat of a hassle to stop and start the recording, but it beats somehow getting a corrupted file and losing the entire ride compared to only losing 15 minutes of a ride.
The VholdR is not going to have the instant feedback I’ve come to expect from my digital camera or my DV camcorder. If you go into it with this in mind than you should be pleased with the device. Speaking of DV quality recording the VholdR is not there. The optics for the device are built for size and recording size. If you want DV quality recordings, then strap on your DV camcorder to your bike. Personally, I’m happy with the results with the camera.
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Popularity: 8% [?]
With gas prices at an all time high and predicted hit $4.00 per gallon commuting to work has many benefits.
In 2003, cars idling in traffic wasted 5 billion gallons of fuel. Furthermore, the average American spends 50 hours per year stuck in traffic. (source) Wouldn’t spending some of that time on a bicycle be more enjoyable?
Still not convinced yet? What about your health? Bicycling benefits your physical and mental health by providing sustained, moderate aerobic exercise. But don’t take our word for it…
“Significant health benefits can be obtained by including a moderate amount of physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week.
Physical activity reduces the risk of premature mortality in general, and of coronary heart disease,hypertension, colon cancer, and diabetes mellitus in particular. Physical activity also improves mental health and is important for the health of muscles, bones, and joints.”
- Audrey F, Manley, M.D., M.P.H., Former Surgeon General of the United States (source: Center for Disease Control)
Check out the Bike League’s website for more details on Bike To Work Month: www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth
Here is a great website for tracking gas prices across the US. www.gasbuddy.com
Popularity: 6% [?]
Pictured above the San Francisco Peaks just north of Flagstaff, Arizona.
There are some great road bike rides in Flagstaff, Arizona. If you are in Flagstaff, Arizona there are 3 must do rides.
- Lake Mary - Mormon Lake Ride
- Snow Bowl
- Wupatki - Sunset Crater
www.roadbikerides.com/ride/view/lake_mary_rd_-_mormon_lake/119
Pictured above Lake Mary Road and Upper Lake Mary.
The Lake Mary road bike ride in Flagstaff, Arizona is one of the best road bike rides in the state of Arizona voted by www.RoadBikeRides.com. This ride has it all; a great bike lane, no traffic lights, great scenery, some rolling hills, short climbs, and places to stop and fuel up along the bike route. THIS IS A MUST DO RIDE!
Below is the profile of the Lake Mary bike ride. There is about 2,479 ft. of climbing during this 56 mile bike ride.
Also check out these other 2 bike rides that are MUST DO RIDES in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Snow Bowl: www.roadbikerides.com/ride/view/snow_bowl_hill_climb/844
Wapatki: www.roadbikerides.com/ride/view/wupatki_-_sunset_crater/849
Popularity: 8% [?]
Comment on this post at a chance to win a MUSCLETRAC.
I have been using TheStick for years and was recently turned on to the MUSCLETRAC. I have to say there is no comparison. The MUSCLETRAC works much better than TheStick. It really moves the muscle around rather than just rolling the muscle out like TheStick does.
I was reading Triathlete Magazine and saw the MUSCLETRAC featured in the magazine and emailed Dr. David Fitzmaurice about his new and upcoming message therapy tool. He gave me a MUSCLETRAC to try out and one to give away to a lucky reading. I have been using it and I have to say it is awesome!
Some of the many benefits of the MuscleTrac are:
- Injury prevention
- Injury recovery
- Recovery
- Warm up muscles
- Disperse lactic acid build up in the muscles
- Message
- Can take anywhere
So check out the website at www.muscletrac.com and order one for yourself.
We will be giving away a FREE MUSCLETRAC to a lucky reader. Comment on the post at your chance at winning a MUSCLETRAC. Leave your full name, city and state for your chance to win.
Popularity: 6% [?]
ROME (AFP) - Giro d’Italia organisers have performed a dramatic u-turn and invited the Kazakh-backed Astana cycling team to this year’s race, Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday reported organisers as saying.
“Yes, I have invited Contador,” the Gazzetta quoted race organiser Angelo Zomegnan as saying in reference to Spanish Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, 25, the leader of Johan Bruyneel’s Astana team.
Contador and his teammates were initially and controversially not invited to either the Giro or the Tour by the respective race organisers earlier this year.
But a report Saturday in Gazzetta’s web edition had said that the team run by Bruyneel, who helped steer Lance Armstrong to seven Tour yellow jerseys, would finally join the roster of the May 10-June 1 race.
That initial report claimed their participation would depend on the inclusion of Contador, American Levi Leipheimer and German ace Andreas Kloeden - all three of whom have finished on the Tour de France podium.
Zomegnan, cited Saturday by Gazzetta, had said the decision would be taken after the final stage of the Tour of Romandie, currently being led by Kloeden.
“Astana remains a candidate to participate in the Giro. We have reserved the right to invite all teams right up till the last minute,” Zomegnan initially said.
The owners of the Giro d’Italia, RCS - who also own the Gazzetta - did not confirm nor deny the report but the paper then quoted Zomegnan to confirm their initial story.
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Popularity: 6% [?]
Thank you to everyone that commented on the AquaJoe Freebie Ride-Strong.com cycling blog write up. The comments were all very positive; especially like the one about no more messy baggies which I can relate to.
The winner of the AquaJoe random drawing is a reader by the name of Kaygee. Congratulations Kaygee!
Check back to Ride-Strong.com for the next Freebie write-up. Ride-Strong.com will we doing a post on a new and upcoming product call the MUSCLETRAC. I was reading Triathlete Magazine and saw the MUSCLETRAC featured in the magazine and emailed Dr. David Fitzmaurice about his new and upcoming device. He gave me a MUSCLETRAC to try out and one to give away to a lucky reading. I have been using it and I have to say it blows The Stick way.
If you would like your product featured on Ride-Strong.com click here.
Popularity: 6% [?]
RoadBikeRides.com has a monthly contest leader-board where each month the RoadBikeRides.com member that accumulates the most points for contributing to the site wins a prize.
Samantha Newman pictured below takes the win for the month of April 2008. It was a close race for 1st place. Samantha Newman went wheel 
to wheel with Mike Weiland and edged out Mike by less than 100 points. RoadBikeRides.com will be sending her a brand new Garmin Edge 305.
RoadBikeRides.com will have an ongoing monthly contest. Each month a prize will be awarded to the RoadBikeRides.com member who has the most points for the month.
The race to the Yellow Jersey Contest for the $10,000 cash prize is currently a close race between Samantha and Mike but there is still plenty of time left for others to bridge the gap and compete for the $10,000 cash prize.
CONGRATULATIONS SAMANTHA NEWMAN!
AS ALWAYS RideStrong™!
Popularity: 7% [?]
