Road Bike Cycling - Choosing a Suitable Bike

There are many reasons for cycling on the road and there are several different types of road bikes. The four main types of bikes for road bike cycling are road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid bikes and folding bikes. All of these types of bikes also have many variations and different designs so choosing the right bike for your needs can be a big decision.

What type of bike you choose to ride on the road depends on how often you will use it, the purpose and distance of the journeys you make, as well as which type of bike you feel most comfortable riding, as they all have different riding positions.

Generally road bikes have drop handlebars and thin tires, and they are relatively lightweight. They are mostly designed for speed so that the riding position is low down rather than upright, as this is the most aerodynamic position. This type of bike is certainly the quickest choice for road bike cycling and is the bike of choice for racing and most experienced road bike cycling fans.

Road bikes can essentially be divided into two sub-categories - touring bikes and racing bikes. Touring bikes are excellent for long distance rides and cycling holidays, while race bikes are designed for acceleration and speed.

Touring bikes have lower gear ratios so they are appropriate for carrying gear with you on a long ride or tour. Race bikes are extremely light and have very rigid frames to maximize the transfer of power from the rider to the wheels, in order to offer a smooth ride.

A good choice of road bike for commuters, keeping fit and cycling for leisure are hybrid bikes. These are essentially a mixture of a mountain bike and a road bike, and they are growing in popularity all the time. They have fast spinning wheels like a road bike, but the riding position is more upright and similar to a mountain bike position, because they have flat handlebars.

Hybrid bikes are easy to maneuver, with a range of gears that make it easy to cope with changes in speed or gradient. They have wide tires similar to a mountain bike so they can used off-road. They are definitely a convenient choice for general road bike cycling and leisure rides.

Mountain bikes have tires with substantial tread as they are designed for off-road riding, but they can also be changed to road cycling if you already have one and want to cycle on the road without another huge cost. To adapt a mountain bike you can just swap the tires for narrower, smoother tires. This will decrease resistance and make cycling on the road easier and faster.

If you cycle on the road as part of your journey to work a convenient sort of bike to use is a folding bike. These are ideal if you use public transport as part of your journey, or if storage is an issue at work or at home. Instead of having to worry about where to leave your bike safely you can just fold it up and carry it with you.

Whichever style you choose, when road bike cycling always think about making yourself obvious to other road users by wearing reflective items and using lights. This is imperative for your safety on the road, regardless of the type of bike you choose.

For further information on all aspects of road bike cycling and the different bikes available to buy please visit roadbikecycling.co.uk. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kate_Johnson

Aerodynamics - Brawn GP and Formula One

The first time aerodynamics was used in Formula One as a way of making the cars faster, was in the late 1960's by Lotus, Ferrari and Brabham. Since those simple days of slight modifications, the aerodynamic parts of a formula one car has been greatly improved. It is a one way to get an edge over competition and claim a place in the winners books, just like Brawn GP likes to do.

The main aim of the Formula One aerodynamic parts is to reduce drag and increase downforce. Drag is friction on the of the parts on a car caused by air flowing over it and getting disturbed by bumps, creases or any other distorted shape that prohibits air flow. This slows the car down and makes accelerating and achieving a high top speed very difficult.

Downforce is the force that pushes the car down on to the road surface, thereby creating more grip allowing better traction, and therefore better cornering abilities. This achieved by one of two methods:

Wings or Ground Effect Aerodynamics. Wings are located at the front and rear of each car, forming downforce by pushing air upwards and effectively creating a downward type of thrust.

Ground Effect Aerodynamics are very complicated and use the method of creating a vortices on the underbelly of the car. As the pressure of the vortices is lower than the atmospheric pressure, the atmosphere effectively pushes the car down onto the road.

Drag slows the car down in the straights and downforce speeds the car up in corners, but the act of wings displacing air to create downforce causes drag, which in turn slows down the straight line speed of the car. Therefore the balance between drag and downforce has to be adjusted at each track, for example at Monza the setting will be less downfoce but also less drag, so the speed of the car will be increased for this high speed track.

Another example is Monaco, where the need for downforce is much greater than the need for straight line speed as there is many sharp and bending corners and not very high top speeds are reached on this track. Therefore the downforce will be great, but drag will also be high.

For the time being, Brawn GP has found the perfect balance between drag and downforce on each track, resulting in high finishing positions.

Brawn GP is the latest F1 Team to hit the tarmac, and is taking the world by storm! Follow Brawn GP on their path to victory, and check the stats, cars, drivers and more! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Omeshan_Naidoo

Find Discount Football Tickets - Save Money and Get Cheap Seats

Watching a football game can be exciting especially if it is your favorite team. We all would love to go to the game and watch it live but it can be expensive finding tickets that you can afford. If your team is popular it is possible that the game can sellout which creates a tough situation because usually ticket prices are more expensive. There are places that you can search to find tickets that are both affordable and the seats you get you are ideal. You want to first search online and find a website that has discount football tickets available. Always make sure you are using a reputable website because there are fraudulent tickets that can leave you out of the game.

A great place to search first is eBay because it has a large section for tickets in the secondary market. When searching on this site you always want to find a person who is selling you tickets to have great feedback. This will help you because you can feel confident that spending your hard earned money on great seats will pay off for you.

We all love when football season arrives and most of us gather around our TVs to watch the big games, but wouldn't it be fun to actually go see them in person. Another great way you can see your favorite team for not a lot of money is to attend a preseason game. I know it is not the most desirable game to go to but you will get to see all of your favorite players.

Depending on whether you are going to a professional football game or a college one there can be deals you can find through that particular school. Many college games can be attended by students and also people who are alumni. You want to call the student union and ask them about getting discount football tickets.

Remember that finding tickets to your favorite football team is not hard to do when you use the Internet. There are many great deals available but make sure you always use a reputable ticket dealer. One of the worst things that can happen is you spend your hard-earned money on tickets and many do not let you in because the tickets are fraudulent.

Find: Cheap Football Ticket How to: Buy Discount Tickets Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Tickets and Finding a Deal Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_Burbank

FIA 2009 season changes

A number of changes to both the Sporting and Technical Regulations have been made by the FIA for the 2009 Formula One season. In the case of the Sporting Regulations, the primary aims are increased reliability and further cost reductions. In the case of the technical changes, there are three main objectives - reducing the role of aerodynamics in the cars’ performance; making overtaking easier; and keeping lap times in check.

Tyres
After 10 seasons on grooved tyres, Formula One racing returns to slicks in 2009, as part of moves to increase the emphasis on mechanical rather than aerodynamic grip. With no grooves, grip will increase by around 20 percent, bringing a significant performance gain. However, that gain will be offset by the vastly reduced downforce levels of the revised aerodynamic regulations (see below). The overall effect should be reduced performance through high-speed corners.

Drivers will still have the choice of two dry tyre compounds and will still have to use both compounds during a race. As before, suppliers Bridgestone will select the two compounds for each race from their four-compound range - super-soft, soft, medium and hard. However, unlike in 2008, they will not select two consecutive compounds, so the difference between ‘harder’ and ‘softer’ at any given race will be far greater. A green band on the sidewall will distinguish the softer compound.

Standard wet-weather tyres will now officially be known as 'intermediates', and extreme wet-weather tyres will be referred to simply as 'wets'. The latter will feature a green central groove.

Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS)
From 2009 teams have the option of employing a KERS to boost their car’s performance. As its name implies, a KERS recovers the (normally wasted) kinetic energy generated by the car’s braking process. This energy is stored using a mechanical flywheel or an electrical battery and then made available to the driver, in set amounts per lap, via a ‘boost button’ on the steering wheel. Under the current regulations the power gain equates to around 80 horsepower, available for just under seven seconds per lap. This could be worth several tenths of a second in terms of lap time, but the weight and packaging of the system - and its impact on the car’s weight distribution - also have to be taken into account.

Engines
In a move designed to boost reliability still further, rev limits will be cut from 19,000 to 18,000 rpm. Drivers will be limited to eight engines per season, with each team allowed an additional four engines for testing. Once a driver has used up his eight-engine allocation, any engine change will incur a 10-place grid penalty (or a move to the back of the grid if made after qualifying) for the event at which the change is made. Just one team - Renault - has been allowed to make performance modifications to their engine for 2009 in order to help equalise power outputs.

Aerodynamics
Along with slick tyres, this is the biggest area of change for 2009. Downforce will be dramatically reduced and the cars’ bodywork will appear much cleaner, thanks to new dimensional regulations that effectively outlaw extraneous items such as barge boards, winglets, turning vanes and chimneys on most areas of the car.

As well as reducing overall aero performance, the revisions are also designed to increase overtaking by making the car less susceptible to turbulence when closely following another driver. The most obvious changes are to the front and rear wings.

The front wing becomes lower (75mm from 150mm) and wider (up from 1400 to 1800mm - the same width as the car) with driver-adjustable flaps. Drivers will be allowed to make two wing adjustments per lap, altering the wing angle over a six-degree range.

The rear wing becomes taller (up 150mm to bring it level with the top of the engine cover) and narrower (750mm from 1000mm).

Also at the back of the car, the diffuser has been moved rearwards, its leading edge now level with (rather than ahead of) the rear-wheel axle line. In addition, the diffuser has been made longer and higher, all changes that will reduce its ability to generate downforce.

Testing
From 2009 onwards testing is not allowed during the race season (from the week prior to the first Grand Prix until December 31) and is limited to 15,000 kilometres.

Safety car
The pit lane will now remain open throughout any safety-car period, allowing drivers to refuel without penalty. However, to ensure that drivers are not tempted to speed back to the pit lane, a new software system which employs GPS and the cars’ standard ECU has been introduced. When the safety car is deployed, each driver is given a minimum ‘back to pit’ time based on his position on track. If he arrives in the pit lane before that time he will be penalised.

Pre-race weights
After qualifying, the FIA will publish the weight at which all cars are expected to start the race, giving spectators an accurate gauge of what fuel load each driver is carrying.

http://www.formula1.com

Mugello 2009: Where is the best place to watch?

The prime viewing areas of the Mugello circuit, setting for the Gran Premio d’Italia Alice.

As MotoGP atmospheres go, they don’t get much better than the circuit of Mugello. The natural auditorium of the Italian hills echoes with the roar of the MotoGP machines and the cheers of some of the most passionate fans in the world over the duration of a Grand Prix weekend, but where is the best place to be at the Gran Premio d’Italia Alice on May 31st?

The greenery of the countryside is all but replaced on a Sunday morning in one corner of Mugello, as the landscape gives way to an invasion of yellow. Poggio Secco is sure to be packed once again this year, the home of the specially-designated Valentino Rossi supporters grandstand. The roar of the fans as their hero passes is something to behold, as is the madness that ensues with a victory for ‘The Doctor’.

From the Rossi section there is not only a great view of the on-track action, but also of the other principal fan group. The past six seasons of the MotoGP World Championship have seen Ducati’s ‘Ducatisti’ make their presence felt at the Correntaio corner, with their own red grandstand and banners put up by Rome’s Desmodromiclub. Last year they brandished the number 1 for World Champion Casey Stoner, and will once again be out in force to cheer on the Australian.

For the more neutral MotoGP fan, a bird’s eye vista of the key overtaking points of the track is not to be missed. Sites overlooking the Arrabbiata section, the short straight between Borgo San Lorenzo and Casanova and the twists of Scarperia all have close vantage points for those wishing for an overall view of the action.

Mugello has something for everyone but, as always, if you can’t be there in person the happenings will be live and direct on motogp.com

Iniesta convinced of Rome role

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta is "convinced" he will be fully fit for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United.

Iniesta, who has had a stunning season for the newly-crowned Primera Division champions, tore a thigh muscle in Barca's 3-3 draw with Villarreal and there were initial fears he would miss the final in Rome as well as the FIFA Confederations Cup with Spain. However, the inspirational midfielder is adamant he will be at his best in the Stadio Olimpico.

"There's only one week left for the final match in Rome," he wrote on his official blog. "Possibly one of the nicest and most important moments of the year and that with which we can end a historical season.

"I write just to inform all of you that my injury is on the right road, since I injured myself against Villarreal, in the last match in the Nou Camp, I have tried to put everything into recovering and managing to be at 100 per cent for next Wednesday.

"Today I can say that for the past two days I've already been doing work in the mountain with Emili Ricard, my physiotherapist, to strengthen my muscles and I'm getting fitter.

"The truth is that it is incredible training and I hope shortly to be able to begin to run and to touch the ball. I am convinced that I will arrive in Rome at my best to be able to help the team... it is my greatest desire!"