Top 5 Tips for Staying Injury Free on the Bike

Riding a bike is all about joy!

The last thing any cyclist wants—racer or commuter—is an injury that could keep you off your bike for who knows how long. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can prevent serious cycling injuries. We dig the tips from ORICA-GreenEDGE's resident physiotherapist Robert Brown. Check out the video below, but here's the gist of what he suggests:

1. "Train smart. It's all about quality, not quantity." While you, naturally, want to be the fastest and fittest out there, training and building speed takes time; rushing into any new program can cause a lot of pain and very little gain. Brown suggests you find a good coach or physiotherapist to help you manage your training load specifically for your needs.
2. "A good bike fit." When everything on your bike is adjusted right for your body, it's going to be a lot more comfortable and will also keep injuries at bay. Make sure your cleat position is set in such a way that the line of force is underneath the ball of your foot. This'll help keep your Achilles and your knees happy. Also, be sure your seat is neither too high or too low—both are bound to cause pain. If you're not sure what the best alignment is for your body, head to your local bike shop and get some help or, if you know a physiotherapist who have bike fit experience, give 'em a call.
3. "Stretching to maintain good range of motion and muscle length." Check out the video at 2:18 for some stretching recommendations.
4. "You must have good movement patterns and muscle activation." Click to 4:05 to see Brown's recommendation for a squat exercise to be sure your posture is right and you're activating all of the proper muscles. Not only will this help prevent pain and injury, but it will also result in increased performance.






5. "And the number one tip for staying injury free on the bike is road safety." Pay attention, pay attention, pay attention. You can do all the stretches in the world and have the best fitting bike you can find, but a road accident, be it with a vehicle, another bicyclist or a pedestrian, can cause serious injury. One of the most important pieces of this is wearing a helmet that fits right.

Are These the Ugliest Cycling Jerseys You've Ever Seen?

As you know, BicyclingHub.com makes a point of only selling beautiful, high-performance cycling jerseys, but that doesn't mean really ugly jerseys aren't out there. We've all seen photos of cyclists rocking kits we would never be caught in. Last Thursday we asked which jerseys make you cringe when you see them—and you certainly delivered.

And so, without further ado, here are some of the ugliest of the ugly when it comes to cycling jerseys:

The kit that inspired this story.  Long before women from Bogota were wearing gold.

A paler version of the kit above—but just as ugly.

Scottish legend Graeme Obree rode for this team in the 1990s

We are not sure this jersey would make the list were it not for this picture floating around of Laurent Brochard and his mullet

What is the red thing in the center of the jersey?  A chicken or some other kind of bird?  We aren't quite sure.

The team signed 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre who was never heard from again

Many said this was this jersey was their least favorite

The jury is still out on the Mapei jersey.  Do you know of an uglier cycling jersey we missed, let us know in the comments.

Or maybe you've seen too much ugly already and you're ready for something beautiful? Check out our collection of cycling jerseys for men and women.

Peter's Podium Pinch: a Quick Recap

By Sarah Esterman

It was the pinch heard (seen? felt?) around the world. Shortly after Cannondale racer Peter Sagan pinched podium girl Maja Leye's bottom at the Tour of Flanders, the photo—surely you've seen it, if not, it's included in Michael Hutchinson's tweet below—circulated the web and stirred up some controversy, even creating a healthy discussion on our own Facebook page.

Shame that Peter Sagan has so much class on a bike and so very little off it. twitter.com/vincentrenault…
— Michael Hutchinson (@Doctor_Hutch) March 31, 2013

Sagan's first apology came via Twitter later that day:

Was not my intention todisrespect women today on the podium. Just a joke, sorry if someone was disturbed about it.
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) March 31, 2013

The next day he uploaded this video to his Facebook page, offering up a more sincere apology:

Photo via uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

And Wednesday at the Brabantse Pijl, Sagan met with Leye before the race to apologize in person and give her a bouquet of flowers. It's probably a good thing he did it before the race, too, since he ended up winning—and this time, you'll notice, the 23-year-old kept his hands to himself.

Davis Phinney Foundation to Auction Off Signed 7-Eleven Jersey

By Sarah Esterman

Last week, while doing a little bit of spring cleaning here at BicyclingHub.com HQ, we found an old gem: a 7-Eleven cycling jersey. While we weren't sure what to do with it at first, our founder and boss, Doug, worked up a good idea and we just got word it's a go.

And so without further ado, we're very excited to announce that legendary 7-Eleven racer Davis Phinney will be signing the jersey and then auctioning it off for the Davis Phinney Foundation. We don't have all the details yet—like when this will be happening—but we just had to share. We'll let you know when we know more.

Congrats to Our Own Adrian on His Race Win Last Weekend

By Sarah Esterman

Adrian is third from the left

We are very proud of our very own Adrian Richardson—you may recognize him as one of our rock star customer service reps—for his win at the 2013 North Bend Criterium last weekend!

He cycled through awful weather to pull out the win, and he's even rocking the Castelli Free Aero Race Bibs.

Congratulations Adrian! You rock!

Sleek New Styles by Twin Six

By Sarah Esterman

The Ace by Twin Six

This season's new line of cycling jerseys by Twin Six is downright awesome. Keeping the high-quality performance value we can expect from a brand like Twin Six, the new looks feature bold vintage vibes that will definitely help you stand out from the rest.

"We're all about doing our own thing," Mark Fischer, from the sales and marketing division of Twin Six, told us in 2011, "The name Twin Six originally came from a 6 cylinder car engine invented by the Packard Brothers in the 1920's. When the concept was first introduced to larger, more established car manufacturers still using four-cylinder engines, they were dismissed. So the Packard brothers manufactured it themselves. The same attitude translated to this company."

No doubt it has. And it seems that this year's line was specially-designed for devoted cycling fans. Whether you rock the Ace, the Speedy Flanders or the Grand Prix for men or the Climber or Super Star for women, you will definitely be cycling in style.

Check out the rest of the 2013 jerseys by Twin Six below and click here for more info.

The Climber by Twin Six

The Grand Prix by Twin Six

The Speedy Flanders by Twin Six

The Super Star by Twin Six

BicyclingHub.com stocks a wide variety of high-performance cycling jerseys for men and women. Check 'em out here.

Dave Campbell's Paris Rouxbaix Trivia

April 2013

Of All the European Cycling Events that we cycling enthusiasts try to explain to the uninitiated, perhaps Paris-Roubaix presents the biggest conundrum. How can you make sense of bouncing expensive bicycles across ancient, cobbled, brutal roads for hours on end? Muddy if it is wet, dusty if it is dry…the riders say Roubaix presents a “special brand of torture” but then in the next breath they say how they would love to win it and how much passion they have for the history of the event. Somehow the suffering, the chaos, the potential for disaster all mesh perfectly with the rhythmic cycles of smooth roads and selective pave, the rugged beauty, and the immense challenge to make this April Classic one of Cycling

most unique and very special events. This month

what else could we focus on, but…

"Paris-Roubaix…The Hell of the North”

Q1. Especially if you followed cycling on the meager CBS Sports TV coverage in the 1980s you will remember this quote from a rider who had been in a racelong breakaway only to be dropped and cruelly drop out of the event:

“It’s a pile of s@#t, it’s just a whole pile of s@#t. You are riding in mud up to here and you are wet and miserable. It is just a pile of s@#t!” So, the commentator asks “will you ever race here again?” “But of course” the rider responds “It is the most beautiful race in the world!” Right there this man captured the very essence of this beloved, loathed, and feared event. The year was 1985, but can you remember the rider?

Q2. In modern cycling, riders fall into two very separate camps: Stage Racers and Classics Rider with minimal or no overlap during the Spring Classics such as Paris-Roubaix. In the history of the sport this is a relatively new phenomenon. Who was the last rider to win both Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France in the same year? And in what year?

Q3. Who is the ONLY RIDER to win Paris-Roubaix on his first attempt (in his second year as a Professional)? HINT: It was NOT Eddy Merckx!!!

A1. Dutchman Theo de Rooy of the Panasonic-Raliegh team, who went on to work for many years as a sports director for the Dutch Rabobank squad.

A2. Frenchman Bernard Hinault in 1981.

A3. Italian Felice Gimondi in 1966.