As I've studied more about the bike fitting process, I begin to notice "things" as people ride there bike-especially if I'm riding behind them.  One of these "things" is the knee wobble. 

A common pedaling style that I have noticed is that on the down stroke, the knee will buckle to the inside.  Then, on the upstroke, the knee will go back to "normal".  If you assume that most people ride at approximately 90 revolutions per minute, this is 5,400 times a hour this occurs.  This side-to-side wobble is highly inefficient and can lead to knee problems.The reason this happens is that most people have a slight tilt in the foot.  For most people, there is a small gap on the inside of the foot.  A good way to illustrate this is to stand on one foot and then bend at the knee.  Watch as your knee buckles inwards.  This happens because the floor is flat and there is a gap between the foot and the floor.  As you apply pressure, the foot rolls to meet the flat surface.

How the heck did it get to be 2010? This number just seems unreal. Whatever happened to the 90’s? The 80’s? Times were simpler then. The news media reported the news. I didn’t have a cell phone and was apparently ok without one. I had an aluminum Cannondale R400 (fat tubes and all) with down-tube shifters and was perfectly happy with the ride. I just thought the roads in California sucked.

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Most traffic violations are enforced by police officers at the time of occurrence. Citizens can get a warrant for traffic violations if a traffic law has been broken. This is not common practice and should be reserved for exceptional instances. The protocol for citizens obtaining warrants for traffic violations was provided by the City of Huntsville Magistrate.

In order to get a warrant, the citizen will need to make a case report (incident/offense report) with the Huntsville or local police department

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Here are some interesting jerseys that you may (or may not) be interested in.  I'm simply a conveyor of information.  Website

Here are two very good resources to use to find bike rides-especially if you're traveling around to a new area. Website  Facebook Page

I'd like to introduce a new sponsor to the AlabamaCyclingNews.com website, the Moontoast/Tristar Cycling Team and to PodiumFinishTraining.org.  Mercury Bicycles!

Mercury Bicycles produces extremely high quality wheels and bicycles.  The products are being used by the Kenda Professional Cycling Team as well as several teams across the U.S.

The mission statement (paraphrased by the writer) of the owner, Chris Mogridge, is to provide high quality products to people and not rake them over the coals or charge a premium.  Essentially, give people high quality products without taking advantage of them.

Latest driver safety legislation news: A ban on text messaging while driving passed the House Public Safety Committee on Jan. 13, 2010. Alabama hosted the nation’s first statewide summit on distracted driving in December.

Current prohibitions: None.

2010 cell phone, texting legislation:

This website should be good reading and enjoyable.  Fat Cyclist Blog

Attached is the December issue of the Birmingham Bike Club's newletter the "Spokesman".

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Linked below is a .pdf regarding something Oregon is considering for the protection of vulnerable road users.  This might be of interest to some of you.

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Update! Homewood Cycle & Fitness clothing drive BBL this Saturday 1/16 The clothing drive BBL is ON for this Saturday leaving from behind HOMEWOOD CYCLES. Please bring any clothes you would like to donate to the start of the ride. Please visit Tria's Website if you have any questions.

Editor's note:  The Tria Market Cycling Team is always doing this type of work.  They are the organizers of the "BBL".  This  ride is for anyone that wants to get exposed to racing or fast group rides or is simply new to the sport and everyone is welcome  It's not a "death march" ride where you'll be left for dead (that comes later in the summer).  Each year, Tria organizes a clothing drive to help local charities and people in need.  So, instead of turning that shirt into a grease rag, consider donating it.

Name of Product: 2010 Redline Conquest Pro Bicycles and Framesets

Units: About 350

Distributor: Seattle Bike Supply, of Kent, Wash.

Hazard: The bicycle's fork legs can separate from the fork crown and cause the rider to lose control, posing a risk of serious injury if the rider falls.

We've all heard the saying "Go hard or go home!"  Well, I'll modify the saying and say "Go hard when you're at home!".  With the heart of winter settling in and the frigid temperatures and rainy weather keeping us indoors, we're becoming too close with our trainers. 

Too often people simply get on the trainer and just ride and complain of boredom!  No longer.  Get on the trainer and have a plan.  Plan to go hard.  Not all out hard as if you're racing, but hard enough to meet your goals.  For example, if you're in the middle of your base period "Zone 3 Tempo" is in order.  If you're at the end of your base period "Zone 4 Threshold" is in order.  Both done in big gears and low cadences for muscle strength development.

2010 master event calendar for the southeast.  This calendar is very much a work-in-progress.  If you are putting on an event or if you know of an event, please contact me.  I especially need assistance on the century/charity type rides since I'm not directly in the "loop" for those.  The list will be continuously updated, so please save the link and periodically refer back to the link for the latest updated list.

Hey all of you 'crossers!  Get one more shot at cyclocross glory this weekend in Chattanooga!  Don't miss "Cross-A-Nooga" and don't miss out on what appears will be some epic cross weather to add that extra bit of European flair. 

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Thinking about skipping your workout? Just give me 20 minutes! 

The Florence Bicycle Club is looking for action shots of people on their bikes to add to their Facebook page!  If you have some you'd like to share or if you would like to join their page, click here.

My apologies for the lack of updates lately.  My wife gave birth to our first daughter on December 4th.  Add this on top of the holidays and the mandatory "Baby Tour" 2009 and the endless stream of visitors, I haven't had much of a chance to work on the site (or to get sleep).  I have also been working on another project that has consumed what little time I've had left.  Plus, the cycling season is probably at it's lowest point of the year during the holidays anyway, so there usually isn't much news going on.

On piece of news I'm curious about is why all of the logging trucks and heavy duty logging equipment on State Park Road in Pelham?

I will get back to daily updates soon.  I am currenlty working on a comprehensive southeast regional events calendar that will include, I hope, all of the events that are going on in 2010 in AL, MS, TN, GA, LA and parts of FL and the Carolinas.

Which brand of tire and model of tire is your preferred tire for training?   

Click here to take survey

There have been several updates to the ride and event calendar.  My goal is to make this a comprehensive listing of the rides and events that are going on in the state.  The rides can be one time group rides or the weekly "no drop" rides.  To add an event or a ride, simply click on the add event button.  I'll approve the ride and it will be displayed. 

Save your behind...put this in your stocking for the holidays!

Are you looking to buy that sweet new Trek bike or that fast looking Pinarello?  Look no further!  Check out Alabama's newest and coolest bikeshop!  Owned and operated by cyclsts and racers who know exactly what you need!

Alabama Cyclingnews

Are you looking for an affordable set of racing wheels to give you that aero advantage?  Are you lookin to not invest what would amount to be 50% of the price of a good car in the purchase?  Look no further!  Hawk Racing has a variety of wheels from the 50 mm rims to the super deep 85 mm rims and the full disks.  The wheels come in both the clincher and tubular varieties.  The prices on the wheels are affordable and are guaranteed to make you fast! 

Available for purchase very soon at www.daddymart.com

The following link will provide you with information as to what the Birmingham Bike League (BBL) is all about.  You'll also see how points are determined and the various competitions.  Read more...

Please help make Alabama Cycling News a highly useful resource and enter in your ride and event information so that people can easily find out what is going on.  My goal is to make access and finding information super easy.  No longer will you have to do endless web searches to find the information you need and want.  However, I need your help.  To enter an event, you'll no longer have to login into the site to do so.  As a precaution, your event won't immediately display.  I'll have to approve the event to make sure that unscrupulous "hackers" don't enter inappropriate material.  Click on the link and you can get started.

 

Never lean your bike against your wall again!  If you're at a bike event, never again risk leaning your bike up against your car, tree or a sign, only to have it topple over and put a dent or crack in the frame.  The stands are made in America!  The stands were designed and produced by a local cyclist here in Birmingham!  You can order the stands directly from the EZ Bike Products website!

BUMP has been very active as of late.  The club and others have been working furiously to get the new trails at Tannehill constructed and ready to roll.  In addition, B.U.M.P. has been working toward getting new trails built at Oak Mountain. 

Improvements like this aren't free and come at a price.  B.U.M.P. needs your donation!  Your donation will help buy the materials needed to build these trails.  One of the biggest obstacles at Oak Mountain is raising the funds required for the engineering and the construction of a bridge over one of the dams. 

Please consider making a donation.  Your donation of $10 or $100 or $1,000 will help.  If you ride the trails at Oak Mountain, you really should consider making a donation...perhaps a $1 or $2 per ride that you do.  Afterall, your money goes directly to add more singletrack for you. 

Additional information (note:  as of Wed, the donate link on this page didn't work).  This link works:  Make your tax-deductable donation today!  Click here!

Oak Mountain State Park will be closed for the annual deer hunt.  The park will be closed from December 8th.  The back gate (119 entrance) will be closed until March 1st.

Don't forget about the night rides, road or mountain, every Wednesday at Oak Mountain.  Ride on your own or with a group.  The only rules are to have adequate front and rear lighting and be out by 9 a.m.

Coming Soon!  Stay tuned for the December Grand Opening "Daddy Deals"!

Discussions are currently taking place between the UCI Management Committee and the IOC to finalize the changes in the track cycling program for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The purpose of the discussions is to have an equal number of events for men and women. The current proposals include the elimination of the individual pursuit competition for both men and women.

Sign the petition....

December 5th ride has been rescheduled to December 6th.  However, no points will be scored.  For the most up-to-date details on the ride check here.  To receive instant text messages, send an email to Darryl Seelhorst This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  with BBL in the subject line and your phone number.

Getting people out of cars and onto bicycles, a much more sustainable form of transportation, has long vexed environmentally conscious city planners. Although bike lanes painted on streets and automobile-free “greenways” have increased ridership over the past few years, the share of people relying on bikes for transportation is still less than 2 percent, based on various studies. An emerging body of research suggests that a superior strategy to increase pedal pushing could be had by asking the perennial question: What do women want?

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Yield to Life is a pretty cool site that you should go visit.

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, David Zabriskie has been a professional cyclist since 2001. He has ridden for the best teams in the world, including Team CSC and United States Postal Service. In the 2005 Tour de France, David rode the fastest time trial in Tour de France history to beat out Lance Armstrong and wear the highly-coveted yellow jersey during the first few days of the race.

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For some reason, the right column is displaying in Internet Explorer.  However, it does display in Mozilla.  I'm not sure about any other browser.  So, bear with me on this.

It's been a bit slow for the past week or two.  Add in Thanksgiving, getting a new business started (stay tuned) and getting prepared for the arrival of a baby (December 4th), I haven't been updating the site as I need to be.

In the next week, I'll have the 2010 schedules up.  I you're putting on an event or if you have a schedule for your area, please send it to me.  I'll be getting back on track shortly.

If you come across any news, topics of interest or if you have something on your mind, please send it my way.

This is a really cool video set to music.  It's been around for a while, but if you haven't seen it already, the stunts this guy does will blow your mind!  You may think you have some handling skills until you see this guy.  Click here.

Check out the bike stand by EZ Bike Products.  This stand is really convenient at home and while going to bike events.  Forward this link to the people that have you on their holiday shopping list!  Buy this for a cycling buddy of yours!

Name of Product: Bicycles with EA30 Stems

Units: About 6,400

Importer: Easton Sports, of Scotts Valley, Calif.

Hazard: The bicycle stem can crack and cause the rider to lose control, posing a risk of serious injury if the rider falls.

Incidents/Injuries: The company received a report of a stem breaking, causing a minor injury to the rider.