France Bicycle / Velo Tours

Mountain biking has grown immensely over the last decade or so. And why shouldn’t it? It’s fun, fast, exciting, adventurous, healthy, environmentally friendly and a fantastic way to experience nature and see the countryside.

Of course, with popularity comes more choice, but with so many manufacturers and brands and types and whatnot around, it has become quite a complicated task to choose the right mountain bike. Hopefully, this article will help.

What type of bike should I get? This is a very important question, because bikes are made for different terrains and types of riding. There are 3 main categories to choose from - downhill/freeride, cross country, and all-mountain. Do you need full suspension, or will the front suspension do ok?

The second step is choosing the size. Size is important and you must get a bike that fits you. Here is a general guide depending on your height: 15″ bikes or less are for people shorter than 5′4″, 17″ normally fits people that are between 5′4″ and 5′11″, 19″ are for people between 5′11″ and 6′2″, and 21″ and up are for people taller than 6′2″.

When is the best time to buy a mountain bike? If you can, try to avoid buying during the most popular seasons - spring and summer. Prices always fluctuate, depending on the season. The best time to buy is September, because new models arrive and the old stock is discounted. But don’t be to cheap, you do want a decent-quality bike. Remember, mountain bikes are not created equal.

There are many different parts of a bike. When looking for quality you have to check out the frame material, quality of the important components such as brakes, derailleurs, shift levers, suspension fork, and so on. As always, you get what you pay for, so don’t be to cheap. A full-suspension bike for less than $200 is not quality.

Don’t forget about essential biking gear - helmet, water bottle, gloves and biking shorts. Biking shorts are probably the most important piece of biking gear you’ll ever buy. Your rear end will be much obliged.

Technorati Tags: bicycling, biking, cycling, exercise, fitness, mountain bikes, mountain biking, recreation

After checking out the cliffs at Chimney Bluff State Park, we’ll take a pleasant 45 minute drive to Fair Haven Beach State Park. Fair Haven Beach is a family oriented park. It’s clean Lake Ontario beaches are some of the finest in Upstate New York and the hilly woodlands above offer outstanding hiking. Inland you’ll find Sterling Pond which is surrounded by campsites and cabins that are available to rent. Along with swimming, the pond offers excellent fishing and has rowboats, canoes and paddle boats for rent. The park also has playground and picnic facilities as well as sports playing fields. Finally, waterfowl hunting is allowed in designated places during the open seasons.

Next we’ll drive another 35 miles to the historic City of Oswego. Oswego is the home of Fort Ontario. The original fort was built in 1755 and was a British outpost during the French and Indian War. The first fort was destroyed by the French in 1756 and rebuilt in 1759. The second Fort Ontario was destroyed by American forces during the American Revolution. The British reclaimed Oswego in 1782 and built the third fort which was turned over to the United States in 1796. The third fort was attacked and destroyed by Great Britain during the War of 1812. Between 1839 and 1844, the current Fort Ontario was built in response to the threat of another and a possible British invasion from Canada. Between 1944 and 1946, Fort Ontario housed survivors of the Nazi Holocaust. In 1949, the State of New York began developing the fort as a State Historic Site. Fort Ontario is now open for tours from early May until the middle of October on Tuesday - Sunday from 10:00 - 4:30. There is a minimal admission charge.

Today Oswego is one of the most key ports on Lake Ontario. During the spring, Oswego Harbor’s sheltered waters offer some of the finest steelhead and brown trout fishing in the Great Lakes. In the summer, many fishermen focus on the fine walleye and bass populations. In Oswego Harbor, September is coho salmon season. Large numbers of the large fish school in the harbor to get ready for the fall run. The local charter captains can brag about their clients who have hooked giant fish including a 33 pound coho in 1998 and a 33 pound brown trout in 1997. What ever the season, pack your favorite spices in your picnic backpack don’t forget your barbecue tools because you will be catching and eating some great fish in Oswego Harbor.

In our next installment we’ll spend a little longer in Oswego and then continue along the Seaway Trail to Pulaski. Stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: picnic, picnic basket, picnic baskets, scenic byways, scenic drives, scenic travel, Seaway Trail, travel

Ah, semantics! When someone tries to argue semantics with you,isn’t it always fun? It ensures that the other person will like you when you show them your superior grasp of meaning in casual dialogue and it always makes for great conversation on a first date.

Sometimes, however, semantics can be important. Like when you’re researching electric bike kits. When looking for information online, people use all sorts of phrases in search of what they’re looking for: ‘electric bike kit,’ ‘electric bicycle kits,’ ‘bicycle engine kits,’ ‘electric bicycle engines,’ ‘electric bicycle conversion kit,’ ‘electric bicycle motors kits’ … the list goes on. Often, with the right combination of words, you find what you’re looking for. Other times you’re pointed to something that you did not intend, like a gas-powered bike kit or an eBay listing for a non-descript ‘bicycle engine’ that does not include all of the other necessary parts to convert your bicycle.

Technically speaking, the phrases ‘electric bicycle engine’ and ‘electric bike motor’ are the same thing. These days, in the context of electric bicycle motor kits, (the qualifying term ‘electric’ aside) a motor refers to an electric motor when one says ‘engine’ or ‘bicycle engine kits’ it normally connotes a non-electric engine.

According to the Dictionary of ever-useful.com to produce force and motion” and a motor is “a comparatively small and powerful engine, esp,an engine is “a machine for converting thermal energy into mechanical energy or power. an internal-combustion engine in an motorboat,automobile,or the like” and is “also called an electric motor. Electricity. A machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, as an induction motor.”

That said, referring to electric bike kits as ‘bicycle engine kits,’ or their motors as ‘electric bicycle engines’ is not a misnomer, it’s just not the typically understood language. While an ‘electric bike kit’ specifies the type of power source, ‘bicycle engine kits’ could include both electric bicycle or folding electric bike engines and gas-powered bicycle engines.

Technorati Tags: electric bicycle, electric bicycles, electric bike, electric bikes, folding electric bike

Do you have an interest in entering the hobby of bird watching?  Bird watching is as much an art as it is a hobby.  Therefore, it requires binoculars which are suitable for bird watching.  This will make your bird watching pastime more fun and rewarding.  Not just any old pair of binoculars will do.  We’ll give you some of the important things to consider when buying binoculars to successfully enter the world of bird watching. This information is also great for those bird watching for beginners enthusiasts. 

The first thing you need is significant magnification.  Birds cannot be watched from a close distance.  You know that your slightest movement will scare them away.  High powered magnification allows you to observe birds from a safe distance and zoom in to observe their habits, beautiful colors and unique attributes.

When purchasing binoculars you will find that they are marked with a magnification number followed by an “x” and a number indicating how much light is allowed into the binocular prism.  Both of these numbers will become more important to you the further you journey into your bird watching pastime.  The magnification number is the easiest to understand it simply tells you how much normal eye sight is magnified by the binocular.

The lower the amount of light, the more natural light you need to see your birds clearly.  For example, if the number was 30 your lighting conditions would need to be better than if the number is 40.  More light allow you to use the power of your binoculars for clear, well lit, and sharper images. 

It is certainly tempting to go out and buy the highest magnification you can find to optimize your bird watching experience.  The problems with that are twofold.  One, the higher the magnification the heavier the equipment is and the more difficult it is to maintain.  A magnification of 10x is best for highly trained bird watchers or professionals.  If you are starting out go for a 7x or 8x magnification, at least until you get the hang of the hobby.  The other reason to wait on a more advanced purchase is because the difference in cost can be significant.  Professional, highly accurate 10x magnification binoculars will cost a lot more than 7x or 8x binoculars.  Start at the lower end.  If you grow to love bird watching, you can increase the quality of your equipment over time. 

There are a few more important tips before you buy bird watching binoculars.  First, to compare binoculars.  Get a feel for the binoculars, their weight, clarification, and focus.  You should buy the pair with which you are most comfortable.  It is also important for individuals who use spectacles should find scopes that have a minimum of 15 mm of eye relief with a foldable eye piece.  Another factor, often overlooked when buying binoculars is the exit lens.  Check the balance, weather proofing, design, the focus and coating to ensure that if you end up in less than optimal bird watching weather the day is not shot by a pair of cheap binoculars through which you couldn’t even see your hand before your face.

Technorati Tags: birding, birdwatching, hobbies, how to watch birds, recreation

In this current time period of digital cameras, you probably think all you need to do is point and click to take great photos.Hold on, don’t go so fast.The fact of the matter is, you can have the best digital camera, but if you have no clue in what you are doing, you are gonna take horrible shots.

Well, I’d love to share with you some great advice in photography to help improve your skills.  These tips are coming from years of experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.These tips are all about the lighting and they will some of biggest reasons for you success in taking photographs.

First great tip in regards to lighting.Now if the shots you will take are going to be outdoors during the day, the natural sunlight will be some of the best lighting possible.  Now you are probably thinking, “that’s easy, when you are a San Diego photographer since it is always shiny there”, when in actuality really bright sunlight can cast harsh shadows.  Or it can wash out the details in faces if the sun is overhead.

Overall, what you will want to do is to have the sun behind you when you take most of the shots.  This prevents the harsh shadows that can be caused by the sun.There will be some times when you want to take shots from different angles when you do try to get some shadows into the shots.

Now that we know what to do during the day shots, what if you have to take some night shots? 

The key technique for night photos is actually turning off your flash.Now if it is pictch black, of course you will need it, but if there are some lighting, use it, but make sure the shutter speeds are slower to let the light in.Another thing, make sure you keep a steady hand when you take your shot or you can blur the photos.Applying these couple of techniques will make a dramatic difference for those nights shots you take. 

The third and final tip with using lighting to capture great photos is the golden hour.Now there is a time that photographers refer to as the “golden hour” or “magic hour”, and that is during sunrise and sunset.

It is during this time of day when you will capture great shots that capture more warmer colors.You’ll be able to get that golden lighting that isn’t available during any other time of day.

There you go.Probably the biggest tip in taking beautiful photos is to make use of the natural lighting around you.  Knowing what techniques to use for different parts of the day, or just scheduling a photo shoots to capture those times of day will help you become an excellent photographer.

Technorati Tags: general, photographer, photography

Perhaps you have heard of video marketing which is one of the most modern and popular forms of marketing today. Not only that but using videos to market products and services is highly efficient and great fun at the same time. More and more businesses and individuals are using this form of marketing to drive sales and increase traffic to their websites. Here are the main advantages of video marketing:

Traffic to a website can be increased actually overnight using this type of marketing. Video sites are getting more popular by the day and getting thousands and thousands of hits. With this in mind it stands to reason that smart businesses are putting their own videos out.

Achieving the first page ranking on search engine results pages can be easy with video marketing. By using the right keywords and tags your video could reach the top of the SERPs in just a few days. Once again this is something that many website owners pay a lot of money to achieve.

Any business looking to raise their online visibility can find that this is much easier when using video marketing. Cleverly posted videos can help to significantly increase online visibility. Why pay for services which claim to enhance online visibility when it can be done simply by posting a video.

Branding can sometimes be quite difficult too. Most businesses need some kind of gimmick to do this and a great video could be just what a business is looking for. They don’t have to cost a lot of money they just have to be distinctive. By creating a video like this a business can develop a brand image that is hard to forget.

Reaching a wider audience is also another benefit of this type of marketing. Obviously any individual or company who is promoting anything wants as many people as possible to be exposed to it. By using online videos it is entirely reasonable to expect thousands of people to see it in a few days or hours.

By posting a video online that is really popular a business can let the video do its own marketing. So if 10 people watch a recently posted video in the first hour and enjoy it they might send it on to 10 friends each. That is potentially 100 views of your video in just over an hour. Then say the 10 new people send it onto another 10 and so on, the video could be watched thousands of times in 24 hours. That is the kind of marketing a lot of companies spend a lot of money on.

Video marketing has many benefits as you can see. It is a fast and effective way for anyone to reach thousands of people quickly and easily. They are easy to access, fun to watch and above all they get results. Whilst it might seem difficult to create a video, it is actually easier than you think.

Technorati Tags: branding, Internet, internet marketing, marketing, online, online video marketing, SERP, Technology, traffic, video, Videos From Youtube, youtube

The Bike Frame

Getting A Correct Bike Frame

There are a lot of things to factor in for a successful bike ride, whether it’s something you do every day or only once. The bike has many different parts to it, but your bike frame is the most important part. Although the geometry of the bike frame may get changed by the frame manufacturers when they want a different look, there are still some measurements that can’t be changed or messed with. If you’re new to cycling, you’re not really going to care all that much about fancy frames. However, if you’re an old pro at cycling and have been doing it for years, you may have an interest in the different styles of frames. Just recently I was contacted by a reader asking why bicycle articles never go into detail about frames. So, I thought I’d spend a little time discussing frames.

The Difference in Frames

There are more differences to bike frames than just the color. Although most of us make a selection based on color, there are many other variations that can be found in bicycle frames. For instance, the Orbea Orca frame and the Trek Madone frame have many differences between them. Some of the differences we tend to forget about are the overall frame geometry, tube lengths, frame angles, etc. The reason these items are seldom listed or discussed is because when it comes right down to it, when you get your bike frame, you’re going to have to be the one looking at it for a long time so you better like the color and design.

Basic Geometry of the Bike Frame

The basic geometry of the bike frame consists of the size of the chain stays, the distance between the bottom bracket axle and the back wheel axle, and the distance between the front wheel and the bottom bracket. These areas are the same for all bikes and are the basics of how they’re made and cannot be changed or the handling of the bike will be affected.

Another Important Dimension

The seat tube length is designed to fit the rider and can be adjusted by using a long seat pin to adjust the height of the saddle. The angle of the seat will be dependent on the frame size or, at least this is the case with factory made frames. The smaller the bike frame, the steeper the seat tube will angle. This may need to be adjusted for taller or shorter riders, however. The more relaxed the angle is, the more comfortable of a rider there is going to be.

Read full articles about bicycle geometry and bicycles available at this web.

Technorati Tags: accessories, bicycle geometry, bike ride, cycling, extreme sports, frame, riders, sports

The ideal thing about a good theme park is that it appeals to both adults and kids. The whole family can enjoy itself at Sea World Orlando Florida. The 200-acre site opened its doors in 1973 and it continues to be a hit with visitors. The mix of rides, animals and shows is a winner. Visitors are advised to bring a waterproof camera to capture their family as they have fun in watery surroundings. There are times posted for watching the animals being fed, such as the penguins and visitors can hand feed some animals themselves, such as stingrays, dolphins and sea lions.

There are four major rides, two of which are roller coasters. Journey to Atlantis is a water coaster, based on the mythical underwater city. Wild Arctic is a flight simulator that whisks you away on a helicopter to the North Pole. Kraken is a roller coaster and is based on the sea monster from legendary stories. The Shamu Express is the other thrilling roller coaster at Sea World Orlando Florida.

Sea World Park has lots of shows to keep everyone entertained, involving the animals and trainers. Some of them also involve audience participation. One show, the Believe Show is devoted to the eight orca whales the lives in the park. There is also a nighttime version of the show  called the Shamu Rocks America, that showcases the whale’s tricks together with some pyrotechnics. There are also other show like the Blue Horizons, which is an acrobatic show for dolphins, false killer whales and birds.

The Odyssea show is another acrobatic display, with music and an underwater theme. Pet’s Ahoy is particularly suitable for families with young children at Sea World Orlando Florida.  Cats, dogs, birds, potbellied pigs and rats perform various tricks and stunts. Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island is a show involving otters, sea lions and a walrus in an adventure that brings in the audience.

Shark Encounter is perfect for people who want a close encounter. It contains one of the longest underwater tunnel from which sharks, eels and barracudas can be seen. The kids can also go swimming at the Shamu’s Happy Harbor which has fun slides and water maze. Truly, Sea World has become Florida’s landmark and a must visit for tourist and first time comers.

Article by Van T, you can learn more about him at his profile.

Technorati Tags: Disney, Florida, sea world park, travel, vacations

Team building is a vital part of any good business plan. Without any recognition of the role that team building plays in a successful business plan then there is a strong chance that things will not run as smoothly as they ought to. Go to team development for more information.

The reluctance to include team building in the day to day running of a business and the employees within is often down to one of tow things; a complete lack of knowledge and understanding or a misunderstanding of the knowledge they do have.

For many the words ‘team building’ mean very little in the context of their place of employment. They think of football teams or some other such sporting activity. Team building to them means ‘The Premiership’ transfer market with vast amount of money changing hands. They cannot see how team building could possibly relate to their office or shop job.

To many others the term conjures up images of a bunch of reluctant office workers giving up their weekend to be marched across a wet and windy area of the Cotswolds by a retired Sergeant Major., all in the name of team building. Again this is completely wrong.

Team building and team building exercises are as important to any business as employing the right people. So much of business today relies on good relationships and communication due to the competitive nature of the world we live in. If your staff is not part of a strong unit that has good working relationships within it and cannot communicate successfully then how can you expect to bring in the best business possible?

Team building has several aims and each is linked to the running of a successful business.

Motivation - Without a good feeling about what you are doing you cannot perform to the best of your ability. This can be achieved in many ways using goals and incentives. Refer to Motivational Consultants for more information.

Communication - People work best when they clearly understand what they are doing, but also why they are doing it. Communication is important at every stage and is vital to achievement and success.

Imagination & Creativity - One of the biggest aims of any team building exercise should be to allow room and scope for creative thinking. Often a task will be completed but not necessarily in the quickest, most productive or appropriate way. Allowing the opportunity to contribute different ideas, often highly unusual ideas, can produce unexpected but important approaches to problem solving.

Improving Leadership Skills - Without good leadership a team of people is not really a team at all, it’s just a group of people performing tasks. Leadership can come in many forms and doesn’t have to be a case of cracking the whip; in fact good leadership is the opposite of that. Leadership is the ability to co-ordinate and manage people in situations where problems need to be overcome in achieving a common goal.

Time Management - Given enough time most things can be done. Unfortunately time is a precious commodity and we never seem to have enough of it. Team building teaches effective time management and helps identify where time is being wasted and how to use it properly.

There was a time when the Sergeant Major image of a team building weekend wasn’t too far removed from the truth, but those days are long gone. Team building exercises are just as likely to take place in a sporting venue or restaurant as they are on a mountain or in a classroom. There are now so many different approaches to team building and whatever approach suits you there will be an appropriate team building venue and exercise.

Whatever route you choose to take it is important that you come away from the experience feeling positive and encouraged. Visit Motivational Speaker for further information.

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